House Help

A few months ago, I read an excellent novel: "The Help", by Kathryn Stockett. This novel focuses on the lives of the African American ladies who worked as house helpers in the homes of white families in America's "Deep South" in the early 1960s. It was a fascinating read and one that caused me to reflect on the way I relate to the ladies who come to help out in my home here in Tanzania.
Having "House Help" was a new concept that I have had to get used to living here in Tanzania. When we first arrived in Tanzania, I was told that most overseas families employ a local lady to come in and help around the house with all the extra jobs. To choose not to employ someone would have 2 main implications: being seen as too proud to offer employment to local people who need the income of a steady job, and secondly, meaning that I would have so much housework to do that I would be doing very little other than working in the kitchen or cleaning.

With this in mind, I "inherited" the help of Jane, from a MAF family who were leaving Dodoma. Jane has been working for us since November 2009 and has been a big help around the home. Joel enjoys having her around on the 3 days that she comes in to our home to help us and she is very fond of him, chatting to him in Swahili and delighting in Joel's daily progress. One of Jane's main tasks is baking our bread. She is whizz at whipping up the dough, never needing a recipe, unlike me, who has to reach for my Delia Smith Cookbook and turn on my Kenwood food mixer to cut corners with all that kneading!

In May this year, Jane suddenly became very ill with a mystery illness- swellings on her face, a fierce fever, vomiting (Jane filled me in on all the gory details and told me that it was all bright red...most worrying) and an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion and weakness. Several visits to doctors and hospital could not enlighten us further and Jane spent a miserable month feeling very unwell. She stayed at home for the entire month.  I found it a real struggle to keep up with all the jobs at in my home. I employed another lady part time, but found someone who was available to help me long-term...Pendo:

Pendo was able to come in 2 mornings a week to help me out with the tasks that were building up. When Jane returned to work, I asked Pendo to stay on, as Jane was still weak and unable to carry out some of the more physical household tasks. Now, we have settled into a rhythm, with Pendo coming to assist Jane on 2 mornings a week.

For me, having house help is a mixed blessing.

On the one hand, I so appreciate the work of these lovely ladies. I would struggle enormously with having to do all the extra work which comes along with living in a developing country- kitchen work I would not need to do in the UK: baking all our bread, making food from scratch (want chips? budget in time for cleaning spuds, peeling them, chopping them... want pizza? budget in time for making dough, chopping the tomatoes,creating the topping... want biscuits? budget time to bake them, as well as trying to locate the necessary ingredients in town), cleaning wheat to mill it for flour, checking flour for bugs, boiling the milk, making yoghurt... the list of kitchen jobs could go on and on...
Meanwhile, hot and dusty weather means piles of dust daily to wipe up, dirty concrete floors that need mopping, bugs on clothes that hang outside to dry, creating oodles of extra ironing, louvre windows that need wiping pane by pane so that we can actually see out of them....
I need Jane's and Pendo's help to manage these overwhelming tasks!

On the other hand, I often struggle with the necessity of having other people in my home; with the lack of  privacy and space. It can be a strain having non-family knowing and seeing all aspects of your family life, chatting together about your children (albeit in Swahili!) and knowing all the ins and outs of your home-life.
 I relish the days we do not have House Help- my Mondays, Wednesdays and weekends, when I don't need to rush around in the early mornings, organising the list of household jobs, the equipment and the extra meals my House Help ladies will need. The days when I can play with Joel on the floor and chat on the phone without other people watching or listening in. I find that it is a mental strain and sometimes I want to close all the doors and just have my home to myself and my family!

This means I live with the contradiction of needing and appreciating the help and friendship of Jane and  Pendo, while also struggling with the lack of privacy. Just another aspect of life in Tanzania!