Mocha/Arcadia centenarian honoured

RESIDENTS of Mocha Arcadia are very proud of their centenarian ‘Village Mother’ Ms. Ina Agatha Barnwell-Bacchus, who some months ago finished her 100th birth anniversary having been born on November 5, 1918.

‘Mods’; Cousin Ina; Aunty Ina and Grannie are some of the other affectionate names which she is known by in the village by the young and not so young people of Mocha.

Aunty Ina, who is currently not quite lucid all the time was joined by one of her sons, Walter Bacchus, aka Leonard King for an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine. She is currently being taken care of by a helper, with the assistance and supervision of her son and grandson.

“She was married to Mr. Lionel Bacchus, who died some time back. However, she mothered five children – two girls and three boys, but some of them have died out. But those of us alive are doing our best to take care of her; we love and cherish her and all the people in the village of Mocha Arcadia also love her very much. We are all happy to have her [for all these years] and hope that we will have her around for many more years,” said Walter.

Best mother
Mr. Bacchus said that for her 100th birthday celebration Ms. Ina had a grand time, with many of her relatives and friends visiting from far and near to celebrate with her. These included many of the residents of Mocha Arcadia “She was working with the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) as the Coordinator for Mocha/Arcadia, where she started as a party activist since in the 1970s. In addition to this, she was a farmer in the village. Then in 1986, she went abroad for a while until the late 90s.”

Mr. Bacchus said that she was an outstanding mother; that he found her to be the best mother – very loving, saying that she was always very concerned about her children and people in general.

Unfaltering politician
According to Mr. Bacchus, Aunty Ina is well-known within the community of Mocha Arcadia and also within Region Four for her close attachment to the PNCR party since it was formed.

He said that it is for that reason that many of the members of the party turned up to make sure that Aunty Ina had a good time celebrating her birthday and also being a blessing to her on that occasion.

He mentioned that his brother who lives in the United States also visited for her birthday and was happy to find that our mother is still in good health, not suffering from any incurable illness such as diabetes or hypertension. However, we are all concerned that she is not able to move around as much as before; in fact, she spends most of her time lying down or sitting in her recliner chair, which he said was presented to her by the Mocha Arcadia chairman, Rudolph Adams.

According to Mr. Bacchus, Aunty Ina was able to offer words of counsel to the young and old persons who attended, telling them that they must strive to be always thankful to God for what they are able to accomplish, even wishing herself a happy birthday, he chuckled.