We quickly found that the village people of Makumira came to depend on our vehicle from time to time. The only other vehicle was the secondary school's pick-up for which there was a charge.
That's not to say the secondary school were bad - they had to cover their costs because after all they were in the business of education and had to manage their funds responsibly. The other negative for them was that the driver lived far away which meant a considerable delay in emergencies. The school though cared for their own by using their own transport for sick boarders. People were never charged when I helped them out and of course this led to me being in demand around the clock.
I justified the use of a project vehicle for humanitarian purposes as within the broad guidelines of what we were about and also because the success of our various projects meant that we should become one withthe village population. Most times I used the vehicle for humanitarian purposed I donated the fuel personally.
It was risky to drive at night. There were bandits and many vehicles were taken, but I was fortunate the I was never attacked. The other danger is that visibility was not always good and there were always folk walking around no matter the time of night - cyclists too, many without lights. Drunks sleep anywhere and often on the warm road surface.
I liked to take someone to sit on the passenger seat to be a lookout but I had work out who would be best because it was safer to leave Mbise at home with Mags. Sometimes I went without, others Mama Upendo, Upendo, Eriki would ride 'shotgun'.
I have already written about Anna, which is a good example, and I will write more detailed events later, but transportation was need other reasons too.
We had not been living at Makumira long when we transported some people to a funeral. We had briefly know the school teacher and for us attending the funeral was part of being within the community. The gossip was that the woman had died of AIDS and that her death was caused by her recently giving birth - futher some accused her of breastfeeding another child (not her own)!
During the service for her the congregation was told she had died of Typhoid and Malaria. Which is reasonable I guess.
Paying my respects I noted the coffin had a glass viewing area indicating that it was an expensive coffin. But she looked at peace.
It had been a long day and I arrived back at the nursery at 5:30pm and irrigated the nursery - then found that there was no water flowing into the tank and it was just one third full! The water was to be a problem and I would need to sort it out soon!
Mbise would try to protect me from people needing assistance and try to fob them off, but the was a softie as well and would relent and wake me. I too could not refuse an urgent demand to take someone to hospital. Some, expectant mothers, made arrangements with me and that was fine, but childbirth can be a bit unexpected so I always took that into account. Accidents are just that so they are unexpected too.
Some things were annoying. The house girl of a secondary school teacher was bitten by a snake at about 4:00pm, but the teacher did not come to me until 9:00pm when it was pitch black outside! He had delayed because he didn't want to 'waste money on hospital bills', so he waited until she became very sick! The outcome was that she was treated expertly at the Catholic Infirmary and made a full recovery.
An old fellow, drunk, fell from the bridge into the creek and was helped to our gate by a the duty secondary school teacher - a man I liked. He and Mbise begged me to take the old coot to the hospital, but I was reluctant - he was just drunk and it was 10:00pm!
I was talked around but I demanded that the guys son (they lived just across the creek) accompany us to the hospital. When he arrived, we sat the old coot in the back seat with his son beside me.
The old coot muttered and sometimes shouted and then crapped himself - a watery one and it oozed through his clothing onto the seat! It stank!
Well he refused to get out at the hospital and the kindly duty nurse recieved some abuse from the man. I became stern and ordered him out and to behave himself - he did both. After the formalities, we left him there!
On the drive home, I told the old coot's son that he was going to clean my truck when we got back home, but when I stopped at the gate - he fled!
The school teacher arrived to as if our journey was successful and I commandeered him into cleaning the vehicle - he agreed but commandeered Mbise who did the job while the teacher talked to me - the chain of command. Later I paid Mbise and the next day, the old coot actually came to apologize - we sat on our porch and shared coffee and I took him down to the hospital where he apologized to the staff there.
That's not to say the secondary school were bad - they had to cover their costs because after all they were in the business of education and had to manage their funds responsibly. The other negative for them was that the driver lived far away which meant a considerable delay in emergencies. The school though cared for their own by using their own transport for sick boarders. People were never charged when I helped them out and of course this led to me being in demand around the clock.
I justified the use of a project vehicle for humanitarian purposes as within the broad guidelines of what we were about and also because the success of our various projects meant that we should become one with
It was risky to drive at night. There were bandits and many vehicles were taken, but I was fortunate the I was never attacked. The other danger is that visibility was not always good and there were always folk walking around no matter the time of night - cyclists too, many without lights. Drunks sleep anywhere and often on the warm road surface.
I liked to take someone to sit on the passenger seat to be a lookout but I had work out who would be best because it was safer to leave Mbise at home with Mags. Sometimes I went without, others Mama Upendo, Upendo, Eriki would ride 'shotgun'.
I have already written about Anna, which is a good example, and I will write more detailed events later, but transportation was need other reasons too.
We had not been living at Makumira long when we transported some people to a funeral. We had briefly know the school teacher and for us attending the funeral was part of being within the community. The gossip was that the woman had died of AIDS and that her death was caused by her recently giving birth - futher some accused her of breastfeeding another child (not her own)!
During the service for her the congregation was told she had died of Typhoid and Malaria. Which is reasonable I guess.
Paying my respects I noted the coffin had a glass viewing area indicating that it was an expensive coffin. But she looked at peace.
It had been a long day and I arrived back at the nursery at 5:30pm and irrigated the nursery - then found that there was no water flowing into the tank and it was just one third full! The water was to be a problem and I would need to sort it out soon!
Mbise would try to protect me from people needing assistance and try to fob them off, but the was a softie as well and would relent and wake me. I too could not refuse an urgent demand to take someone to hospital. Some, expectant mothers, made arrangements with me and that was fine, but childbirth can be a bit unexpected so I always took that into account. Accidents are just that so they are unexpected too.
Some things were annoying. The house girl of a secondary school teacher was bitten by a snake at about 4:00pm, but the teacher did not come to me until 9:00pm when it was pitch black outside! He had delayed because he didn't want to 'waste money on hospital bills', so he waited until she became very sick! The outcome was that she was treated expertly at the Catholic Infirmary and made a full recovery.
An old fellow, drunk, fell from the bridge into the creek and was helped to our gate by a the duty secondary school teacher - a man I liked. He and Mbise begged me to take the old coot to the hospital, but I was reluctant - he was just drunk and it was 10:00pm!
I was talked around but I demanded that the guys son (they lived just across the creek) accompany us to the hospital. When he arrived, we sat the old coot in the back seat with his son beside me.
The old coot muttered and sometimes shouted and then crapped himself - a watery one and it oozed through his clothing onto the seat! It stank!
Well he refused to get out at the hospital and the kindly duty nurse recieved some abuse from the man. I became stern and ordered him out and to behave himself - he did both. After the formalities, we left him there!
On the drive home, I told the old coot's son that he was going to clean my truck when we got back home, but when I stopped at the gate - he fled!
The school teacher arrived to as if our journey was successful and I commandeered him into cleaning the vehicle - he agreed but commandeered Mbise who did the job while the teacher talked to me - the chain of command. Later I paid Mbise and the next day, the old coot actually came to apologize - we sat on our porch and shared coffee and I took him down to the hospital where he apologized to the staff there.
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