Hired Help

A woman visiting the house yesterday remarked, “Your house is dusty! Don’t you have a maid?!” My housemate noted that it was a good thing it was just Monday and the floor were just swept the day before. If the woman came by on Friday, she might have declared our house a no-go zone. It’s just dust that is really beyond our control because rainy season is over and it, well, hasn’t rained in a while. Being the first flat in the compound also doesn’t help because every vehicle roaring by stirs up the red dust that inevitably coats everything.

I’ve written before about my reasons for not getting a housekeeper. The main one being that I feel I should be responsible for my own mess. I don’t have any plans to hire anyone, but when someone asks how I could possibly do my own cleaning, I start to wonder whether I’m holding onto a principle. After all, I could be providing employment for one person and possibly assisting the person’s family. The woman adds, “This is Africa, everyone has a maid.” My reaction is then never to hire a housekeeper! However, in recent weeks I’ve been thinking about hiring someone just for a few days a week. There would be some clear boundaries. All the mess in my room is mess I am responsible for. My housemate and I would still do our dishes after dinner. So the bulk of the work would be keeping the living room, hallways, and stairs clean and dust free. Now with laundry – I’m undecided. I can say that I normally enjoy doing laundry. I look back fondly to my university days and laundromats with industrial sized machines. Oh the joy of machines that can wash and dry three weeks worth of laundry in two hours. Here, I am finding that my weekend time is becoming increasingly valuable and having to get up early enough so that my clothes will be dry by the end of the day is distressing sometimes (especially when hung over). So, I’ve been thinking someone to help with some laundry might be nice. But then, my clothes are falling apart as they are. The controlling part of me might be upset if something was destroyed.

The point of creating employment for one person is a significant one, especially seeing how dependent people are on any family member that brings in money. (Side note: one of my colleagues describes that as an African burden – if one is successful, one’s extended family will expect to be supported). There is a British guy I hang out with once in while, D. He’s lived in Zambia most of his life and recently told me about how he is helping his houseboy buy land to provide some security to his family in case something should happen to D or the houseboy. When I see them interact they are family. The British guy recognises how his houseboy contributes to his life. Certainly not everyone treats their hired help this way. D’s houseboy has four children and D pays their tuition. I hope this means that those four children will have the opportunity to do something other than service work.

Between the ages of 2 -5, I lived abroad and I’m sure my family became used to having help around the house. I vaguely recall having a nanny, whom I’m sure I forced to play with me. While I’m sure my parents had less to do around the house, I think they felt strongly that this was not how we were going to be raised – in my mom’s mind that we were going to grow up knowing how to do thing. Like clean up after ourselves. Do our own laundry. Cook for ourselves. I think if one grew up with hired help around, it would be very difficult to give that up – one can’t deny it’s a very comfortable luxury.

This woman could not believe that two foreigners do everything in their house themselves. “You must have a lot of time,” she says. “Um no, we both work.” When expats complain they have nothing to do on weekends that is because they don’t have laundry or floors to mop. I promise, it can be very satisfying. There is a fair way to employ workers and acknowledge what they do and the contribution they make to your life. So, I may hire someone, if the right time and person comes along.