The pride of Vhembe senior citizens was restored when they had an opportunity to share ideas on moral degeneration with their executive mayor, Irene Mutsila, at the Thohoyandou Arts Centre on Friday.

The chairperson and founder of the Vhembe Senior Citizen Forum, Mr Wilson Mufamadi, said the function was meant to cement the already existing relationship between his organization and the Vhembe District Municipality. Vhembe Senior Citizen Forum consists of elders from the Thulamela, Makhado, Mutale and Musina municipalities.

Mufamadi said the aim of the Vhembe Senior Citizen Forum is to make sure the rights of the elders are not violated in the district. He said Friday’s function was a milestone achievement as elders had the opportunity to make suggestions on issues that can have a positive impact on their lives. He called other senior citizens to fight for their rights and join structures that will help to improve their lives.

During the function, Mayor Mutsila said elders are valuable members of the community whose knowledge is needed to build the society. She said the senior citizens play a meaningful role in moral regeneration and their knowledge needs to be preserved in a proper way.

“The indigenous knowledge from our elders cannot be bought and it is our collective responsibility to preserve it. Elders need to share this knowledge with the young generation to build a link between the present and the generations to come. We still need the knowledge of the elders because it is important to impart this information to the next generation. Other nations are psychologically defeating us because we look down upon our culture and traditional practices.”

Mutsila encouraged the elders to engage themselves in writing books so that their indigenous knowledge should last forever. “It is important to document our indigenous knowledge so that it will never get lost or be destroyed. We still need more literary works about the correct use of herbs, traditional medicine, proverbs and initiation schools.”

The executive mayor concluded by encouraging the elders to make use of the available resources of the Vhembe District Municipality to further their community-building efforts. “The district municipality is always there to assist you in whatever you need to further your goals in developing this community. We will always be there for you because we know you are the pillars of our nation…”