Half Way To Heaven

 

Joseph is the happiest and the most humble man I have ever met. He is always, always thankful and positive. My life is made a lot easier here because of him. He is very efficient and there is no ‘manjana’ attitude to been seen on Joseph. For Joseph ‘now’ is always better than ‘later’ and he quickly peddles to far away villages to make appointments for me, finds out the prices for sewing machines

and treadle pumps or what ever I am interested in. His monthly salary as a Pentecostal priest is 1500 kwacha - £ 7.50. How he feeds his wife and 3 children is a mystery to me, but he never asks money. He never asks anything, except how he could help.   

 

I have been wondering how to reward Joseph for the excellent work he is doing for me and for the community. I have visited his home, so I know that practically anything would be welcome as a gift. Malawi is the third poorest country in the world and many people have empty houses, apart from few pots & pans, straw mats and if they are lucky, blankets and sacks of maize. I knew Joseph’s family was sleeping on straw mats on a bare floor, many people do, but this floor is actually bare ground. How cold and even wet that must be in the rainy reason. So I thought I should ‘raise them up’ a bit and buy a bed or two for them. Then, in my careful money management mind, I wanted to leave that for the time being and see what other important causes would spring on my way. But yesterday, I told Joseph to buy two beds, mattresses and a cat after hearing that mice are running rampant in the house and actually biting his toes so that they are bleeding. Joseph wasn’t too worried about bleeding toes, but slightly irritated about the fleas whose bites left very itchy marks. I was wondering in my mind if his blankets are clean or are they harbouring this entire flea population? But apparently not so. The one and only worn out blanket they have is washed and aired regularly. I am now hoping that the cat – it has already been named Blessings - will solve the mouse problem, fleas would disappear with them and the beds raise this happy family from the muddy floor.

 

Joseph was very pleased today when I gave him a wall chart of divisions.

“Wonderful, I can teach my children tonight. My daughter is very bad at mathematics, this makes it easier for her to learn.”

The poster will also cheer up their empty walls, even if it won’t frighten the mice away. But that is Blessing’s job anyway.

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I asked Joseph if it is ok for me to write this and send to the Heart of Africa readers.

He laughed happily –maybe slightly surprised that there was anything to write about, but typically for Joseph, had no objection for it.

 

It is a week after the previous and I asked Joseph how is the new bed?

“It is wonderful, I feel like being half way to heaven when lying on it.”

It reminded me to be thankful for being ‘half way to heaven’ every night and not to take it for granted.

 

Sparrow

 

Diary