I reckon, without much doubt, that for a certain time she was the oldest person in the world. She died in 2021. This photo was taken in 2020 about six months before she died. The photo was taken with my camera by her great-grand daughter, who was a friend of mine.

There was a birth certificate, I did not see it, but my friend did. It was held by the lady’s nephew. One of the reasons I believe about her age is that when I wanted to make her situation known, she refused, not wanting any publicity.

She lived in a most basic way in a small village in North-West Madagascar surrounded by family. She never saw the inside of a hospital.