Mother Martha celebrates 102nd birthday

By Leon Suseran, April 4, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

One of Berbice’s centenarians, Martha Bunwarie, of Number 64 Village, Corentyne, turned 102 yesterday.

‘Mother Martha’ as she is popularly called throughout the Upper Corentyne area, celebrated this important milestone with more than 100 residents from the area, including neighbours and friends. She even blew out the candles on her special birthday cake.

Born at Number 65 Village, Martha was an avid rice farmer in the area. She attended the New Market Primary School at Number 63 Village after which she started to do rice and fish farming. She migrated to Skeldon in 1941 where she married Henricus Bunwarie at the age of 34. She returned to Number 64 Village in 1966. She bore one child who died by drowning in 1972.

Her husband, Henricus, died in 1988.

Mother Martha feeds her grandson, Jermaine, a piece of her birthday cake.

Kaieteur News has actively kept abreast with the various centenarians across the country, including Mother Martha and Mrs. Ismay Spooner, who was 112 when she passed away in January.

When Kaieteur News visited Mother Martha at her granddaughter, Corina Peneux’s residence, she was sitting in her chair upstairs. The old lady remembered when we met last year.

Still very talkative, she held on tightly to the reporter’s hand during the interview and in a very soft- spoken manner spoke about this birth anniversary.

“I feel proud to be 102 [years]…the only person in the village,” she said. She stated that her health is “not too up-to-date, but [I am] trying to keep fit.”  Corina Peneux said that the old lady still visits her family doctor, Dr. Seepersaud for regular health check- ups.

Mother Martha said, “I eat anything…anything I am given to eat, I am content.”

Quite happy about the party held last Saturday in her honour, Mother Martha had the event planned and coordinated by her adopted son, Jermaine Smith, 25, who visited Guyana specially from New York for the big 102. “I had a nice party on Saturday”, she said.

Peneux said that Mother Martha still enjoys reading and doing a few crossword puzzles. “She climbs stairs on her own and be in the yard.”
“Her eyesight is not too strong so her doctor restricted her from much reading, but she watches television now and again,” Peneux stated.

Mother Martha, though she never raised any children of her own, cared for numerous children from the area. “I grow lots of children. People would come bring their children to go to school; they stay five years, six years; they go away then another set come,” she said.

“I always have people children. At Christmas, I bake cake; make little pans and given them [children] to share with their friends,” she said.

She said that she even ended up ‘buying’ a child. After being a farmer, she became involved in helping mothers deliver their children and cared for them after the deliveries. She was also known for creating concoctions for young mothers who had difficulty becoming pregnant; and they worked, she said.

Mother Martha surrounded by her great-grands, Roseanne and Lynessa

She pointed to a bouquet of flowers in her living room; it was given to her two years ago at her 100 birthday by former Corriverton Mayor, Mr. Roy Baijnauth. “The Baijnauths are nice people”, she said.

Mother Martha said she was truly blessed to have her granddaughter, Corina, as well as her great granddaughters, Lynessa Vansluytman and Roseanne Seetal and her adopted son Jermaine around her for this special milestone.

Blessed with good health and excellent mobility, Mother Martha is a gem in our midst today.