goGo Emily Philimon

Sixty-six year-old Emily Philimon is one of the many grandmothers who are taking on greater responsibilities in their old age and raising their grandchildren. When Emily’s only daughter passed away years ago she took on the role of mother to her two grandchildren while still mourning the loss of her own child.

Being a mother comes easily to Emily and when she heard from a friend, who is a Magistrate that a young woman was so poor that she was struggling to raise her baby she stepped in to help. “He was so weak; he was not getting the right food,” she says that her heart went out to him and after all the paperwork was prepared she was able adopted him. His mom later passed away from an Aids related illness. Today Eric is a healthy, energetic teenager of twelve. He is in Grade 6 and is much like the other boys of his age. Emily says, “I am so fond of him, he has become my own child. He is a very jolly child and I want the best for him.

Emily now lives in Hertzogville in the Free State, with her husband and her three “adopted” children. She says she wishes she could adopt more children because it pains her to see young children wondering in the streets. “It’s a pity that I cannot adopt all the children, I wish I could, because they are vulnerable. There is still so much to be done with regards taking care of and supporting orphans.”

She is doing her best to support them in other ways and has just become a loveLife goGogetter, one of 500 grandmothers across South Africa specially trained to support children. Each month she will receive a R300 stipend to assist her in caring for these children.

Emily is proud to be a goGogetter because taking care and supporting children is where her passion lies. “loveLife is doing a remarkable job by training gogos to talk freely and openly to teenagers about sex and HIV/Aids. It is offering care and support to orphans and vulnerable children in all nine provinces. I like the concept of us taking the responsibility for talking to young children about HIV/Aids especially at community level,” she said. “I strongly believe that the rural communities in South Africa need to be targeted because it is where lots of cases of incest, rape and sexual abuse occur,” she added.

Emily feels that it is the responsibility of the elderly to help teenagers. “I became a goGogetter because I have a passion for teenagers who will in the long run become the future leaders of this country.”