By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTMES) – Rosita Pedro Mabuiango, a Mozambican woman who achieved a moment of fame, due to the extraordinary circumstances of her birth 25 years ago, has died of illness in her home district of Chibuto, in the southern province of Gaza, according to a report on Radio Mozambique.
Rosita’s mother gave birth in a tree, high above the flood waters of the Limpopo river, at the height of the catastrophic floods that overtook southern Mozambique in early 2000.
Rosita and her family were spotted by the then President Joaquim Chissano on 1 March, as he overflew the flooded river valley. He contacted the search and rescue operations, and a South African helicopter pilot picked up the family and flew them to safety.
Rosita became a symbol of hope and resilience in the midst of disaster. The child accompanied Chissano later in the year, when he visited Europe and America.
Promises of state support for Rosita were made, but her family says the government did not honour these. She completed 12th grade in a local secondary school in 2018 but did not receive the scholarship which the family says had been promised.
Rosita died of anaemia, on Monday in Chibuto Rural Hospital. Her father, Salvador Mavuango, interviewed by the independent station “TV Sucesso”, said his daughter had been suffering from ill health for some time, and eventually succumbed to anaemia, after being hospitalised for more than two weeks.
The Mayor of Chibuto, Henriques Machava guaranteed that the municipality is in contact with the family and will organise the funeral. (MT)
