She could be called Wonder Woman! At 98, she is still going strong with a memory as clear as crystal! Now living down under, Renée Goder used to be a teacher and school inspector but, above all, she was the only female councillor in Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill from 1953 to 1956.

Renée left Mauritius and the street named after her in Beau Bassin, 30 years ago to flee loneliness after the death of two of her siblings. Going to Australia threw her back into teaching as headmistress in three colleges. It was then, when a colleague asked her why she didn’t talk about her country and pointed out to her that Mark Twain’s quote: “ First God made Mauritius, then He copied it and made paradise” was true, that she realised how lucky she was to come from that little island in the Indian Ocean. Today, she proudly affirms, ‘Mauritius moulded me and all my gratitude goes to the four-coloured flag!’

Her contribution to education here has earned her a great reputation in Perth. Someone once told her, “Wherever I went in Mauritius, people were talking about you; if you had stayed, they would have probably raised a statue to your name!” This Renée of ours is indeed impressive…

Can you imagine travelling at 98? Not everybody is as lucky! Apart from a bad knee and a hearing problem, this lady is top fit; you could not tell her age by just looking at her! Some people don’t believe her when she tells it! There is hardly a wrinkle on her face! When you flatter her on her youthful face, she jokingly replies: “Oh well, maybe I should start thinking of finding myself a boyfriend.” She is so young at heart that it gives her a physical strength that would blow more than one of us away; her goddaughter who looks after her is surprised at her vigour. Many a time she has caught Renée in the garden, spade in hand!

This visit is to say a last goodbye to her homeland and catch up with some long-lost friends. Being here gives her the opportunity to admire the beauty of nature, especially the flowers and birds that she loves and misses so much in Australia. Although she is far from Mauritius, at dinnertime she is back home! It’s “Mauritian ambiance” with traditional curry, lentils and so on… When asked what food she eats every day, without a second of hesitation she answers, “Mauritian of course!”

This wonder woman is an example for us all! At 98, she is still fresh, beaming, talkative… She is a real ray of sunshine, spreading her light wherever she goes. You have to smile when you see her, when she tilts her head a little to the left to listen to you, with that sweet smile on her face.

Her age doesn’t stop her from dreaming of visiting Japan, Africa or China, why not all three! Perhaps Renée’s secret of staying young for so long lies in the fact that she never got married! Who knows? I wouldn’t mind her revealing the secret, but it will have to be another time! As Renée said: “Until we meet again…”