Two packed Memorial Masses were held in the past week for her; one in Mabvuku and one in Borrowdale. Speaker after speaker reminded us of her energy and dedication. Her mother died when she was 16 and, as the eldest in a family of seven children, she learnt responsibility early and acquired in those formative years the skills she would later show.
After becoming a Presentation sister – the community that runs Nagle House in Marondera and Wadzanai in Borrowdale – she was asked to run a primary school in Ireland which the Ministry of Education wanted to close as it was failing to perform. She was given one year to turn it round. She not only did this but within a few years added a secondary school.
She ran the schools for 20 years until, in her early fifties, she received a call to go to Zimbabwe. Without hesitation she set out on her new career. She worked for a short time in Nagle House and then was asked to set up the new venture at Wadzanai, a centre for adult training in theology and catechetics.
She worked with Dr Moyo of the University to obtain the official status of association with the UZ and with the late Sally Mugabe to set up a video lending library to boost the education of the students. She laboured at Wadzanai for 10 years before retiring in her early seventies to teach English in Tafara and Mabvuku.
Last year during a holiday in her native land she became ill and had to go into hospital. She never recovered. Those who know her well say she suffered a great deal in those last years. She longed to be well enough to return to Zimbabwe and be buried here, but it was not to be.
So much for the basic facts. So what was notable about Perpetua? Why did people right across the spectrum of our society warm to her? First, all her energy was poured into her work and concern for every person she met. While she made sure programmes were followed her mind was always working on how things could be improved. She believed that education brought freedom and growth and she never rested until the highest standards were met.
And second, any meeting with Perpetua was a vibrant experience. She always left people with a feeling of elation and an appreciation of their worth. You always felt better after an encounter with her. It was not that her praise was some sort of social convention. It was genuinely meant. She spent her 83 years searching ever more closely for the Lord who meant everything to her. In the end you felt here was someone who conveyed the presence of Jesus in a powerful way; an invitation to taste what she tasted and now has to the full.
Post published in: Opinions