August 8, 2008 - Duped
It seems I’ve been deceived. The story is somewhat complicated but I’ll try to explain.
During my first week in Malawi I met with Mrs. Chatuluka, the Chairperson of the Community Based Organization. I explained to her my plans and the rationale for my project. She was very supportive and appeared to be a wealth of knowledge. Of course, I was quite happy to have her on my side since she knows the villages and the families. We asked her to select 9 orphans, one from each of the villages served by the C.B.O. Mabvuto told her not to choose all of her relatives.
A few days after meeting Mrs. Chatuluka we met the 9 guardians of the selected children. One of the guardians in particular impressed me. He is a man by the name of Nelson who told me he supports 9 children none of whom are his relation.
A few more days passed and Mrs. Chatuluka presented us with 5 young ladies to interview for the two cook positions. I was impressed by Maemory’s confidence and decided to hire her along with Kelita.
This week we were chatting with Maemory and found out that she is Mrs. Chatuluka’s daughter. I was surprised to learn of this but not upset. Mrs. Chatuluka has been good to us. Further discussions revealed that Nelson, the guardian who had so impressed me, is Maemory’s husband. It seems that the two of them are caring for one of my orphans, Mayamiko. Mayamiko has a very sad story and I’d most likely have taken her in if I’d know the truth about who was her guardian.
I feel we have been taken advantage of. Mrs. Chatuluka is being paid K3000/month to supply vegetables and another K500 for charcoal. Her daughter, who stays with her, is drawing a alary of K3000/month and her “grand-daughter” is coming to Itatu for 10 meals each week, plus a school uniform and school supplies.
I spoke to Maemory and Nelson and told them both that I was insulted by their deception. I told them That I’d been impressed by both of them upon first meeting them. I assured them that at this time Mayamiko will be allowed to continue coming for meals but I will be watching closely for further deception.
I felt bad because at the same time this information came to light I noticed that Maemory does not do her share of the work in cooking and cleaning. I have decided to speak to her and remind her of her job duties. I will remind her that she is on probation until the end of September at which time her job performance will be reviewed. On the other hand, I’ve decided to lift Kelita’s probation because every visitor I’ve had at Itatu has noted her hard work and dedication.
I’ve also commissioned someone else from the village to supply us with daily vegetables for K2000 a month. This is a savings of about $7.50 which can be used for something else for the children. Mrs. Chatuluka is not upset by this. I think she found it difficult to get the vegetables to the children each day.
I know in the long run the deception done to me has caused no harm. I am helping a family which was part of my goal here. I just wish I’d been aware of how much I was helping one family.
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