Interview with my Grandmother- Christina Maria Benjamin
Christina was born on the 1st of February 1925 in the district of Oudsthoorn in the Western Cape. She was born into a poor family who were season pickers- people who move from farm to farm for work. She had 4 brothers and one sister, and she was the youngest child. They have all passed on, and she is the only one still living today.
Christina never had a formal education and she worked from the age of 8 as the nanny of the farmer’s children. At the age of 25, she moved with her mother to Cape Town where she still lives today.
She met and married her husband, and they had one daughter. Christina’s husband was unreliable, so she reared her daughter on her own.
She worked at several restaurants until she got a job at a Café where she worked for 14 years. After the closure of the Café, she worked at the local Catholic Church where she was a member, and she was a domestic for the Parish Priest.
She worked for the Priest who later became the Bishop, and eventually the Archbishop of Cape Town. She worked for him for 30 years, until she retired at the age of 79. During this time, she adopted a 7 day old baby girl.
In her late 40’s, my Granny attended Adult Literacy classes in the evening to learn how to read and write. My granny is now 88 years old and is still going strong. She lives with us now, and to many people including me, she is an inspiration. She never gives up on life, and even in the worst of situations, she is always busy and never sits around idly.
My Granny is my hero, and I have learned a lot from her. And, I admire her for wanting to go to school at the age of 40- to me that is a great achievement.
Interview conducted by: Caitlin B. Grade 11
Date: 21st May 2013