The surprise and love of the entire village are surrounding Anastasie. She is a woman from the city of Goma and today it’s her 100 birthday.
We asked her: “How did you get to be 100 years?”. She said: “With joy, health food and good company”. Her simple words are telling the story of a great woman.
Life in Congo is not easy. Anastasie was born in 1919 in a village near Bukavu. When she got married, Anastasie moved to Goma and became mother of eight children. Only four of them are still alive. We can imagine how many loved ones she lost along the way. At present, life expectancy in Congo is 60 years.
The city of Goma bears the signs of wars and volcano eruptions. Despite all, she rose above all misfortunes and kept her life full of meaningful relations. She lives with her older daughter, in a poor yet decent home. We met her this year at the Christmas lunch of Sant’Egidio in Karisimbi. She helped us meeting many other older people, which we now visit every week.
Anastasie Lugusa is for us the image of all the women in the world facing the difficulties of life, yet keeping room in their hearts for the others, with the joy that comes from the good things. Women’s Day is for her too. Once again, our best wishes to Anastasie!
