 |
Living to 100
by Tony Deyal
Health to the people
"This is a country where we relax and where we are not afraid to laugh at ourselves," says Minister of Health Herbert Sabaroche, who hails from the small fishing village of Bioche on the west coast and is related to Wigg John Francis. "It is interesting that the 21 persons who are over 100 years old are not restricted to any one geographical area of Dominica but are spread throughout the country.
Ma Daroux, 101, credits ‘healthy food,’ a loving family and also God. (Photo © Tony Deyal) |
"This means the whole of Dominica has an environment conducive to long life. Fresh foods, clean water, pure air, a high level of relaxation, good family support, belief in God, low stress, and lots of exercise —that is what life in Dominica is all about."
He adds one more element to the mix of contributing factors. Sabaroche stresses health care in Dominica. "Our primary health care system is one of the oldest in the region and one of the best or most comprehensive," he says. "It is decentralized, and instead of waiting for people to come to us, we take health to them. We reach out to the people."
One example that stands out, and which is in its own way as significant as Ma Pampo’s achievement, is the story of Augista Mathilde Daroux, known as "Ma Daroux." Diagnosed with hypertension in the early 1970s, she has survived and in fact thrived, and now at 101 walks unaided, sleeps soundly and has perfect bladder control. Grell describes this as unprecedented and noteworthy as a health phenomenon.
"Normally people with hypertension are not expected to live so long. However, Ma Daroux has been faithfully taking her prescribed medication, and the combination of hard work, good food, clean air and a supportive environment has contributed to her being so fit mentally and physically at the age of 101."
Ma Daroux lives on a hilltop overlooking the coastal village of Petit Savane. Next to her house is a spring used by villagers for washing. Her small and neatly kept home is fenced by bay trees, whose exotic fragrance mixes with that of the flowers she has planted in her garden. Born on New Year’s Day, 1901, she went to school at the age of 12. Her parents paid her teacher with vegetables and fish. She left school early and went to work. She had eight children. She attributes her long life to healthy food: lots of cane juice, honey, arrowroot, fish, river crabs, prawns and crayfish. She is cared for by her children, who speak of her with love and pride.
Perhaps because she is not of the television generation, Ma Daroux goes to sleep early and wakes early, as do other centenarians. She also drinks herbal tea and is convinced of the virtue of bush medicine for routine ailments. She also is very religious.
As is Louisa Joseph, 103, whom I visited at Vielle Case, high in the mountains, where at some points the road is level with the housetops. Joseph was half-asleep, clutching her chaplet (rosary beads) when I arrived at her home. Clean, tidy and smiling, she attributed her long life to hard work and good food. She spoke of having a good marriage and sharing with her neighbors. She said quietly, "I lived like God says. Whatever I had, everybody got." When I asked her what I should do to reach her age, she too laughed.
Elizah "Ma Bradley" Phillip, 114, of the village of Wesley on the east coast, has lost most of her hearing so was unable to address the same question. However, her 87-year-old daughter and caretaker did the laughing for her.
Antonia Fevrier, 104, of the village of Grandbay at the southernmost point of the island, was having breakfast when I arrived. She likes malted drinks and sweet biscuits. She ignored my question, perhaps deeming it either unanswerable or irrelevant.
But Ma Daroux was different. When I asked her what to do to live as long as she has, she said, "Eat lots of callaloo"—a spinach-based soup common in the Caribbean. Deep green in color, it has an unprepossessing appearance that contrasts strongly with its scrumptious taste. It is made from the leaves of the dasheen plant, seasoned with garlic and onions, and contains black pepper leaves together with crab, fish or salted meat.
Other people have laughingly suggested that I use crapaud water, a soup made from frog meat that is an island delicacy and, together with fried frogs’ legs, part of the island’s French culinary heritage. I have passed the message on to my wife, who has a vested interest in my longevity. Now I plan to drink my callaloo and crapaud water, and on my 100th birthday to go to Dominica and wait for Columbus to return—or, for those who believe in reincarnation, perhaps to return myself as Columbus.
Tony Deyal, a former consultant to the Pan American Health Organization and now a newspaper columnist, was last seen in Dominica toasting PAHO’s centennial with a glass of cane juice.
 Continue
|
|
| 
