I sometimes saw at Sanawari something I remember happening when I was a child but due to lifestyle changes we have pretty much lost it - family life and togetherness.
That might sound a bit soppy but I make no apology.
Friends of Mama Baraka [or her kids] would gather by the communal water tap close to our door and do their washing. As their clothes and kangas are light material, they were spread out on the large area of grass/lawn to dry. There would be chatter and hi-jinks making a dreary job to be fun. But they were together. On more than one occasion, I joined in on the fights with soap-suds!
After most had taken their dry washing home, Mama Baraka and Mama Lillian (maybe Mama
Titi too) would sit in the shade and sip on the local, mild millet brew (mbege) out of a communal kibo vegetable oil container, and chat.
A number of kids used to ask for help to lift their bucket of water onto their head [twisha]. Boke was one of the more regular ones and we came to know her well because she used to live next to the bicycle repairman, William. Boke was the recipient of things like tennis balls, pens or a few shillings.
