Three Times a Month

Three times a month (on Saturdays) I have the privilege of hiring one of the hardest working gardners I’ve ever met.  Charles is one solid dude and can do the work of three men – no kidding.  I’ve never heard him tell me there’s a job he can’t accomplish.  With a hoe (“khasu” in the Cinyanja language) he can tear apart and put together any problem situation.  He weeds, slashes, plants, trims, digs, identifies native plants, traps animals, washes, paints, details autos, landscapes, negotiates deals and just about any other thing a person might need done.  I’ve never had need to keep him on task because he takes orders and disappears for the rest of the day – completely transforming whatever he touches.  If he worked for you, you’d be impressed.

With gardner help like his, Andrea and I enjoy are back yard all the more.  As a bonus for his hard work, I gave Charles a compressor from the engine of my old Toyota Hilux.  Two years ago, the engine blew up and so I saved any spare parts that were still good.  With a perfectly good spare like this one, Charles took it deep into the Lusaka markets to find a buyer.  It didn’t take long for him to get 300,000 ZMK (approx $66).  He was able to pay for his children’s education and then some… !  It just goes to show how ridiculous it is to throw things away here.  With a little time and working the right network of connections, everything has value.