Good day to all who are reading my blog today.
These pictures show a bicycle that is carrying more than it was built to carry. When Don and I travel on the roads in the villages and even on the highways, men on bicycles are carrying all manner of goods to and from the market places. Frequently we see bags of nsima, rice, beans, and charcoal loaded so high that the bicyclist has to walk and try to push his load to its destination. Men often have their wife and children sitting on the back of the bicycle that is equipped with a little carrying bar about 6 by 12 inches. The women sit sideways when they are holding a child. Bottled sodas are big in the villages and the cases that carry the sodas are often seen stacked 4 or 5 high with each case holding 20 sodas. They pedal for the most part with ease. They even carry doorframes and long pieces of lumber, but in most of these cases the men are pushing their cargo.
On Saturday afternoon, Blessings took Don to the orphanage to see the progress and he stopped this man and bought his whole cargo of firewood for MK1600 which is a little less than $10. I am thinking of those 3 or 4 pieces at the store in Boerne that sells for $4.99. This is a bargain don’t you think? I asked if the wood was bundled for easier transport and was told that it was stacked piece by piece and had to be loaded into the truck that way. Amazing ingenuity don’t you agree?
Blessings is wearing his tribal head dress to identify himself as he visited other villages. We met this man in early November when he transported us to the A/G headquarters for our week long stay at their lodge that is for guest speakers to the college. Pastor Brown had already rented the house that we are staying for that one week and arranged for us to stay in this A/G lodge. Blessings was kind enough to offer to help Don secure some petrol and help him take the petrol to the place where the car we are driving had been sitting. He let Don follow him back to our place so Don wouldn’t get lost.
Blessings with the help of a sponsor built an orphanage in one of the city suburban villages and he and his family took in 12 orphans which are now all grown. One of the babies he found on the side of the road in the bushes. That baby is now grown and on her own. He hopes to open it again if he can accumulate a budget for the purpose. Blessings is the head of building and maintenance at the Malawian headquarters of the A/G and has worked there since the early 1990’s.
Lester is in the second picture, our friend that has the vision for this orphanage along with his friend, Lepherson, who was not here on this Saturday afternoon.
I hope this story helps you appreciate the vehicles all of you drive in America.
Doris