Meet Moses...my very friendly gardener...Moses is 35 years old. His parents live in the Western Province of Zambia with his 3 sisters and 1 brother. He also has a brother here in Lusaka that lives in the "compounds". Moses sends the money he makes working for us home to his parents. He is supporting his youngest brother by paying for his last year of high school.
Moses lives in our "guest house". This is a small house with 4 doors. One door leads to a toilet and shower. Our night-time security guard and our housekeeper use Moses' bathroom. Another door leads to a storage room where he has some broken down boxes and garden tools. The 3rd door leads to his room where he has a broken down cardboard box on the concrete floor and a blanket where he sleeps. (Erik bought him a mattress yesterday to sleep on.) He also has 4 shirts hanging on the window and 2 pairs of pants. He has a copy of the Poisonwood Bible, but he doesn't read. He also has one chair. The last door leads to a small kitchen with a sink and place to plug in a hot plate. He has a very small yard where he will keep our trash until trash day. He also has about 25 bags of soil- just a little bit of soil where he has put clippings and started some new plants. He is very resourceful!
Moses is a Seventh-Day Adventist so he doesn't work on Saturdays like most gardeners but spends that day in worship. He is also a vegetarian due to his religion so at lunch time when we have cabbage or some vegetable we like to share with him. I also shared a bag of Mike and Ikes with him:)
He speaks predominantly a tribal language but knows a little English. He smiles all the time!!He loves my kids and Peterson. There was a man who lived alone in our house before us so he is not used to having kids around the house. He is very kind to them.
He wakes up around 6am and wipes my car down for me before I leave at 6:40 to take the kids to school. He also opens the gate and acts as security for us during the daytime. His main job is to take care of the yard and he does a most excellent job. He is definitely a talented gardener.
He has taught me much about the neighborhood and has helped make our adjustment much easier.
1 comment:
What an interesting man. I didn't realize you had security at all times. Is this normal? Do the security people carry a weapon? What a different life style. Loved the pictures you shared and loved seeing Chelesea's pictures. Have a great weekend. Go Gators.
Sissy
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