July 13, 20008 - Bathing in a Bucket
On Friday we visited to Day Care again. We arrived at about 1 pm, well after the children should have been gone home but all of them were still there. The two boys were outside playing football while the girlsl were inside getting help with their homework. I was so happy to see that the cooks were totally engaged in helping the girls with their homework. They barely took notice of us.
The children were still shy of me. They moved off the mat as soon as I came in but when I took their “snaps” they rushed over to see them on the camera. Mabvuto took a picture of this which I think I would like to have.
As I write this, I am in Mabvuto’s house and there is a chicken wandering near my feet. How odd it is that I am now getting used to chickens inside. I will be sleeping here tonight and bathing in a bucket tomorrow morning.
At the Day Care one girl came late. She had been at the hospital receiving her ARVs for AIDS. As it turns out her parents died of AIDS and not TB as her grandmother had previously told me. I suspected that many of the caregivers were not honest with me about how the children became orphaned.
Last night I spoke with a girl who has ow lived in Malawi for 3 years. She is from Pennsylvania and came here with a university prof to do a semester of development work.. She now lives in a mud house which she built herself and is planning to marry a Malawian. It seems like everything is relative. I am struggling with the conditions at the guest house – one burner working on the hot plate, no fridge, dirty toilet, cold nights and a strange smell., while she is living in a mud house which she built and is carrying her own maize and beans. I guess I’ve only been here for 2 weeks. Maybe soon I’ll adjust. I know that I will since I’ve already gotten used to some things like the plain white rice and hard boiled eggs, the washing of dishes and clothes in a bucket and the constant waiting for transport.
I am getting frustrated and worried about money. I was told that I wouldn’t have to pay rent for the building we are using for the orphans. I was told that If I paid K10000 (About $80) I could use the place for free. The money I was to pay was to be used for improvements to the building such as putting glass in the windows and filling some holes in the walls. When I went on Friday I was asked to pay that money plus pay for the finishing of the outdoor kitchen and toilet. This will cost at least $100 more. I did tell her that I will talk to someone about the cost of the kitchen but that I was told that the toilet would be done before I arrived and was not my responsibility. They try to get as much money out of me as they can. I understand that they are poor and are only trying to make a living but does it always have to come from me? The social welfare worker insisted that he should be present when I did the interviews for the cooks. I was not upset by his presence even though he was quite insulting in the way he invited himself. He presented it as if we had been rude in not including him when truly we didn’t know we were supposed to invite him. After he came, he asked me to give him an “allowance” for his time. I told him that I didn’t think paying him was my responsibility since he is a government employee and this is clearly part of his duty (as he’d so clearly pointed out to me earlier). He was gracious when I said no to him but four days later called Mabvuto and told him that his Canadian friend was not good and that I should have paid him for his time.
I am getting more used to saying “NO” to people. I knew I’d have to say that quite often. I know the reason for their asking; they think all mzungus are wealthy and can just give their money away. It is part of their culture to take whaever money they can from people they don’t know well. They even do it to each other.
Tomorrow I’ll go back to the day care. I’ve hired a carpenter to make table and chairs for about $80. I’ll soon bring the paints for the children to begin working on thank you cards.
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