BIG Charlie is probably the country’s largest man. But being big has not been so much of an advantage to him. It has come with its share of problems leaving him with a dream of meeting the First Lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa. He says if he meets her, maybe his plight of better living conditions will be heard.
Born Charles Nyoni, and now 54 years old, Big Charlie of Lwendulu in Hwange is almost reaching the 300kg mark in weight and towering just over 2,1 metres in height. He says his stature has been his biggest source of his trials and tribulations and yearns for better days as he reaches the twilight years of his life.
Big Charlie suffers from gigantic acromegaly which is a hormone disorder and typically, he has enlarged hands, feet, head, jaw, nose and forehead. Sunday News visited Big Charlie at his home in Hwange where they found him perched on the stoep where he spends most of his day sitting as he is not very mobile. He expressed his wish to meet the First Lady.
“I would like to meet Amai venyika, Amai Mnangagwa so that she gets to see and appreciate my plight, I cannot walk. My car is down too. If I try to use public transport the drivers do not allow me. They don’t want. I would be glad to meet her in person, Victor Matemadanda visited me at one time and he said she would come and see me one day but I am still waiting for that visit,” he said.
Big Charlie believes that Amai Mnangagwa will shine light into his life and mobilise assistance for him as the going is getting tough for him.
And because of his body, he has a big appetite too and that is making putting food on the table a mammoth task since he is not working having left the employ of Hwange Colliery about eight years ago.
“I can hardly stand up, it’s a struggle for me to even walk as my body is in pain. I can bath alone though as I have a shower inside the house. I eat at least six eggs, a loaf of bread, a pint of milk and a big tea pot of tea for breakfast.
Then I will feel that I have eaten properly. Sadza, I can really eat, a full chicken by the side is ok too. If it’s a goat, the insides are for one day, I finish them all then the rest I finish in three days,” he said.
He said he was lucky to have accommodation since he was retrenched in 2012 from Hwange Colliery Company where he worked as a builder and a refuse collector.-The Sunday News
