Economics and stuff like that have never been a keen interest of mine, but it doesn't really take any smarts to recognize the high unemployment rate here. I think one in five people (or 20%) don't have a job. That doesn't take into account those who are underemployed or working in a field other than the one they were trained in. Its a staggering number.
One of the big sectors of jobs around here are house workers and guards. It is normal for anyone who can afford it to have guards watching their property 24/7 and house workers who help tackle the laundry, cooking, cleaning and child care. I must say, it was a bit weird for me to get used to. We have one guard at night instead of a day guard and night guard, which is a little different than most foreigners, and a house worker that works once a week. The guard thing is easy for me to get used to. We are obviously wealthier than most of the people in the country so it makes sense to me to have someone hang out at night and keep an eye on things. But, having a house worker was a bit harder for me to adjust to.
For the first couple months, we didn't have one and I took great pride in getting the laundry washed and hanging on the line before 8am so that when I got back from teaching, my clothes were nice and dry and then afternoons were sometimes spent cleaning or picking up stuff from the market. I was getting a little tired of the early mornings and wanting to help someone out, so Jeff arranged to hire Zawdie in November as part of my birthday present. My goodness, was it awkward for me! I sat on the couch and watched her as she did my laundry, cleaned my house, did my dishes and made some lunch. It felt weird!!! But at the same time, it felt good. Most people here could always use a little more money and we were able to supplement her part time wages, which she sent to the country side to help out her family. And it didn't take long for me to get used to leaving my house to go to work on Tuesday morning and coming home at lunch to a clean kitchen, shiny floors and clothes drying in the sun!
Zawdie has started working full time at her other job, so we have another house worker starting this week. Her name is Imawiash and she actually knows Jeff from when he was growing up here. I'm excited to be able to offer someone a job. Its unwise, and often hurtful, to just give out money to people, but giving someone work values them and their abilities rather than making them feel like a charity case. Giving someone a job, even if its temporary, feels like giving something all around positive. So, I've haven't done dishes since after supper yesterday so that by tomorrow, there will be a good counter full of dishes. It took awhile to get used to someone else doing stuff that firmly fall into the 'my work' category, but I must say, I'm kinda getting used to it.
While I'm on the subject of employees, I'll tell you a bit about our guard, Mulukan. Unfortunately, words don't quite suffice to encapsulate his character. Every interaction with him leaves me thinking-- wow, that is a good man. Jeff and I regularly turn to each other and remark on how much we enjoy him. He is gentle and unassuming and eager to help out. His generosity is humbling considering the differences in our finances. He is always bringing us part of whatever he has harvested lately. He farms during the day and guards at night. I doubt he has 'me time' or time to kick back and relax. My guess is his life is more of a dawn-til-dusk working and then do it all over again tomorrow kinda thing. Yet, his gratitude and sincerity and contentedness with life are things that just exude from him. It is a priviledge to get to know him and learn from him about how to live a full life.
To the sides you can see some honeycomb dripping with honey that he brought us. It is super tasty and super sweet! To eat it, you take a piece of the waxy honey comb and chew. Then you spit out the wax. Jeff is saving his to make a candle or something. It's kinda like eating honey gum. Mulukan has also brought us corn stalk, which, if harvested early, can be eaten like sugar cane but isn't as hard on the teeth. Its quite yummy. It has been a privilege to work with our employees and get to know them a little-- I think that the learning that comes from watching them live their lives far outweighs the finances we pay them. We are so blessed.
