One weekend in February, Hot Husband and I spent a Saturday, date day together. We went along Ngong Road to order some bookcases made, and to also get a couple potted plants for our porch for my birthday. :) Yes, I am my mother's daughter. (Not everyone would want plants for their birthday!)...
As we were getting ready to pull away, Hot Husband and I spotted this woman. Walking down the road with her heavy load of grass. We pulled up, asked if we could take her picture, and gave her some money. One thing we've learned here, is that you don't just take pictures of people. They feel exploited, and it's generally just not respectful. Can you imagine walking home from work in Boston, and having some ogling tourists leaning out of their cars snapping pictures of you?
I can't believe she even took the time to smile for the picture. She was so lovely, and so friendly, even though we'd stopped her in her days work. Somehow, while I was quickly taking her picture (didn't want to bring to much attention to her, and embarrass her or anything), hot husband had hopped out of the car, and was asking her where she was headed. About 2 miles ahead. Before I could blink, he'd gathered another guy from the roadside and they'd taken her load and put it on the top of the car.
We drove down the road, waiting for her to tell us to turn, or that this was her destination... We drove a lot farther then what we had thought. Turned right down a road towards a school, semi paved, and then she pointed left, down a road that was simple dirt. After my pots fell over, half my flowers all fell out and were ruined, and dirt was scattered everywhere in the back bed of our SUV, I was feeling a bit agitated with this plan. I also didn't want to get ourselves in a place where we would be in danger. Hot Husband and I decided I would go in the back and squat while we drove trying to keep the pots and plants from tipping again. The idea of danger was laughed at by hot husband, and I kept silent, seeing the look of relief and pleasure on our new friends face. She kept saying over and over, "God has answered my prayer for today!!". She had been feeling run down, and tired... but this kind of work does not end. If you have animals- she has cows- they always need to eat. And you must feed them.
We drove down a dirt road, rutted with large holes and dips from the rains, and I thought once again how my friend Natalie is made for Africa. (She loves off-roading). When she pointed up a dirt trail, littered with garbage, and hot husband began to drive up it, I officially put my foot down... pointing out that garbage often means broken glass, that it was even a road, but a foot path, and which of us wanted to spent their Christmas money on new tires for our car? This time he listened. And while little children suddenly appeared out of nowhere, staring at us in curiosity, Hot Husband proceeded to pull the grass down off the roof. And then asked if he could carry it to her cows.
She showed him how to carry it, and before I knew it, I was locking the doors to the car (he'd left the keys in the ignition in his excitement), and was running after him snapping pictures like we were on some national geographic expedition.
I feel a bit embarrassed telling that it felt like that. But I know it didn't feel like that at all for Hot Husband. He was simply in the moment, wanting to help this woman, and see what her life was like by doing her work.
He had to take her load up a large steep hill, and then winding through some simple little houses, to a little cabin with the cows all in their stalls at the back of the house.
They were all dairy cows, and the woman's 3 children came running excited to see their mother with 2 mozungus (white people) hours and hours before she was due to arrive. Everything was very simple, very clean, and very much like what you would expect a 100 years ago. No electric, no water, just simple living.
Hot Husband barely made it with her load. He said it was all he could do to not stop and take a break, and he was "shocked" at how heavy the load of grass actually was. We tried to guess, it was well over a 100 pounds. This woman has 0% fat on her body.
We walked away from her house, from their little cabin dwelling (there were about 7 of them up that hill), down the hill, with children running with us, laughing and smiling, and this woman.. so happy that God had answered her prayer, happy that we had stopped for her that day.
It was a bizarre experience. More for us then for her, though you couldn't ignore the men (we only saw men) walking large loads of grass on their backs while we drove home- hours away from their destination. Bizarre in that we didn't do it to feel good, we didn't do it for a photo opportunity, or to see her personal house... but we just did it. I'm glad we did, my plants survived. And I feel like we both have so much respect and more understanding for women here, who walk with such loads, on their heads, their backs, and often, with a child or baby in tow.
We have this picture on our wall in the States of these Ethiopian women carrying very large clay water jars on their backs, and without fail, our African friends in Boston would look at this picture, and just shake their heads at how hard the work was. They did it with a familiarity, an understanding, and a deep knowing that I never really could understand. I now feel that I understand. Not personally, as if I have had to do this, but from firsthand seeing what we did that Saturday.
Father bless the woman off Ngong Road and her children. Give her plenty of food, protect her cows from sickness, let them produce enough milk for her family. Keep her safe, and her children well. Let her children be educated, and help the sacrifices of their mother not be in vain- with all of them having a much better life and future then the one she has worked so hard for. This is every mother's wish.
