By Jeffrrey Moyo

HARARE: Traditionally, Zimbabwe’s aged persons belong to the countryside, where poverty is often rife, but containable. But for Harare’s poverty-stricken geriatric couple, with the husband living with HIV and AIDS, non other is their home besides the capital city, which fuels their plight in the face of unaffordable cost of living.

The Brightons family resides in Harare’s Budiriro five High density suburb, with their three daughters and a mentally disturbed son, who is aged 32 and seven school-going grandchildren, and an HIV positive toddler grandchild.

Ellen Brighton (73), wife to Governor Brighton (76) has an exposed uterus (chibereko in Shona), which needs an operation while the husband is HIV positive.

To further compound their situation, the Brightons’ home went up in flames in 2003, leaving them to struggle to erect a poor structure for a home. However, the structure leaks every time it rains

“My husband is HIV positive. He got to know about his status in 2008 when he fell sick and got tested for HIV,” said Ellen.

“But I’m not HIV positive, I think because after we had our last born child, we stopped sleeping together with my husband and I suspect that was the time he probably began hunting for sex elsewhere,” added Ellen.

Ellen said she initially worked for Governor’s boss as a housemaid before her husband took over.

“I used to work for the same person who took my husband after me and I used to see ARV drugs displayed in his bedroom, but I was not aware what they were then until now when my husband was put on similar treatment,” said the wife, Ellen.

Governor echoed his wife’s sentiments, saying he worked as a domestic employee from 2002-2008 for the person who formerly employed her wife, where he suspected his ordeal started.

“I used to wash clothes for the man I worked for in Highlands, mostly at the time he got seriously ill and profusely bleeding, which I would do the laundry without gloves on my hands,” claimed Governor.

“I suspect that might have been the point that resulted in me contracting HIV,” added Governor, who said he is of the Malawian origin.

From mere look, the aged Governor does not look sick, which he attributes to constant uptake of anti-retro viral drugs that he said he received free of charge from a local government clinic.

“ARV treatment which I regularly get from a local government clinic for free are helping me a lot and I have never fallen seriously ill since I started taking treatment,” said Governor, adding that his health thrived on natural traditional foods prepared by his wife.

“I cook for my husband, in fact, I do most of the household chores and all other things in the home,” said Ellen.

“We are very poor, owing to our old age without any source of income as a family as none of us works, even our children with us are jobless, and we just leave on God’s mercy,” Ellen said.

“As you can see, our home just looks like a makeshift structure because it went up in flames in 2003 and we had to force up this poor structure which you see,” said Ellen, adding that they had no electricity and could not afford to buy firewood and paraffin.

The Brightons said although they were surrounded by rich neighbours, they felt like outcasts in their community, claiming nobody showed them any kindness save for a few distant relatives who rarely visit them.

“We pray that God will come to our rescue one of these days because even our school-going grandchildren are often chased from school because of failing to pay school fees,” said Ellen.

Although the geriatric couple claimed that they were related to Harare Mayor, Muchadeyi Masunda, they said no sustainable help was forthcoming from the mayor, saying they needed descent shelter with their family.

“What we need is just a descent and free shelter, where we can live with our family,” said Ellen, adding that they had rich relatives, but did not know why they were not forthcoming with help.

“I wish Masunda could just give me a job even that of sweeping and preparing tea for council workers; if only the Mayor could help by taking one of my grandchildren or even my last born daughter and employ her, we would be very grateful,” said Ellen.

Masunda confirmed that he was related to Ellen, claiming they had a history of helping each other as relatives.

“I can confirm that Ellen Gwasira is my first cousin. Her late mother, Neria Gwasira (Nee Masunda) was the younger sister of my late father, Dick Albert Masunda,” Masunda said.

“We as the Masundas have, from time immemorial, bent over backwards to support the Gwasiras materially and otherwise to a point where my paternal aunt, during her lifetime, used to chide her own children and implore them to also solicit support from the Gwasiras and stop flogging the proverbial willing horses, but to no avail,” he added.