Picture: Keikantsemang Gaborone and Johannes Thue during Golden Games in Reivilo/Supplied
By OBAKENG MAJE
A senior citizen from Boitekong Service Club in Mokgareng village, near Taung encourages elderly persons to regularly exercise. Keikantsemang Gaborone (61) scooped position 1 in a 100m marathon (female category) during Golden Games for senior citizens that were held in Reivilo last week.
“As an elderly person, I was happy to scoop position 1. I would like to advise other elderly persons to exercise regularly and join various service clubs in their vicinity. We exercise regularly to keep ourselves healthy.
“We are happy with the continuous support we receive from the North West Department of Social Development. Exercising is imperative because it can prevent or delay many health challenges that seem to come with age,” she said.
Johannes Thue (75) from Matlhako 2 village in Pudimoe also scooped position 1 in the same category, but for men. Thue said exercising helps his muscles to grow stronger and he is able to keep going during his day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others.
“I am ready to compete at the district level. I am happy with my health thus far. There is nothing special that I do to keep fit, but exercising atleast two days in a week. Your health benefits will also increase the more physical activity that you do.
“The initiatives like this keep us sane. You know, the more you get older, the higher the level of stress and health challenges one experiences. So, I am happy to be part of this as we continue to have fun throughout,” he said.
The Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) Special Programmes coordinator, Tebogo Morweng said, they have teamed up with the North West Department of Social Development to present the popular Golden Games for senior citizens. Morweng further said, the initiative will assist elderly persons to be physically, emotionally and psychologically stable.
“These various sporting codes will ensure that their mental health is in good condition. This initiative is affectionately known as Golden Games for senior citizens and the best performers will be selected for the next round, where they will be participating against their counterparts in the district level.
“From there, the winners will go to provincial and national levels. We have different sporting codes like women and men football, athletics where both men and females take part. As the Office of the mayor, we continue to support any initiative that brings hope to our community at large,” he said.
Morweng added that, the participants are senior citizens within the communities and they are considered as the fountain, where young people can learn valuable lessons from them.
“They have the wisdom that we need to move our country forward. We would love to encourage all other elderly persons to come and be part of this initiative. They should come out and go to various service clubs and join,” said Morweng.
Meanwhile, the North West Department of Social Development spokesperson at Taung Service Point, Mpolokeng Segonetswe was not available for comment.
The Guardian 