International speaker, facilitator, coach and performing storyteller Makheni is on a mission to spread a global happydemic. This festive season we’ll get down and boogie to the irresistible tune of Asihambe (Mogwanto) by The Coolest Granny in Town.

Mogwanto means brisk walking or marching in Setswana, the home language of Makheni Zonneveld, aka The Coolest Granny in Town. This 14-language Afro-pop song is more than a dance song, it’s the theme song of The Free Health Club - a free online service with one objective: To get the world walking, dancing and making healthy lifestyle choices. If you start at a low pace, then increase the time and pace you can end up walking to the brisk tempo of the song for 30 minutes a day.

The club is in the form of a weekly show, Free Health Club TV on YouTube that is driven by viewers’ questions. The TV show is going to start in January 2022 so for now it’s all about the happydemic.

Spreading the happydemic is more than just dancing to this up-tempo beat. The song is linked to a dance competition that starts immediately. Participants stand to win a whopping R5000 or an equivalent in any currency. This is for all ages – 4 to 104 and if all members of the winning dance group are over 55 then the prize money increases by 20%. The details are on freehealthclub.online.

Makheni, the inimitable international speaker, facilitator, coach and performing storyteller is definitely the poster kid for healthy living and ageing well. This energetic 68-year young granny has always been known for defying her age. At 50, she was interviewed all over including on 3Talk because everyone wanted to know how she managed to have youthful looks and radiate such good health. That was when she exploded on South African media including being a co-host of Motswako - The Mix, with former Miss SA, Vanessa Carreira and TV producer, Carol Bouwer on SABC2.

She was then dubbed ‘The queen of reinvention’ because she had successfully reinvented herself into completely different careers ranging from mathematics lecturer to executive leadership and everything in between. At age 58 she did what seemed like the biggest reinvention of her life. She followed her heart to a new continent where she learnt a new culture and her 14th language. This South African now resides in Noordwijkerhout, a small town along the west coast of The Netherlands.

Now she has outdone herself with the latest reinvention – becoming a singer songwriter in a genre that is not normally associated with grey-haired grannies. She seamlessly moves between presenting serious topics like leadership, transformation and inclusion and fun stuff like singing and dancing like there’s no tomorrow. When you see her walking briskly or ‘get down’ dancing up a storm, you understand what she means by, “I don’t suffer from arthritis. I beat it daily!”

“I have a dream that one day all schools will adopt a daily walking routine for all the learners who can walk and some form of daily exercise for those who are mobility impaired. I have a dream.” Says Makheni with the seriousness that befits every ‘I have a dream statement’.

She says with infectious enthusiasm, “You can expect more fun stuff from me as I grow younger. For starters, you can expect the album Mogwanto in early 2022.”

Is it in the genes? Maybe! One of Makheni’s 2 daughters is the multi-talented Masello Motana.

Asihambe (Mogwanto) is out now on all digital platforms. - https://smarturl.it/CoolestGrannyInTown

https://www.freehealthclub.online/