Enter Tembo, the boyfriend, to KFC Avondale and Tendai, the girlfriend, with co-workers.
TEMBO
Ill met by the KFC, proud Tendai.
TENDAI
What do you want now, Tembo?
Colleagues, give us a moment.
TEMBO
What's up Tendai, why are you hurting me?
All I want is a free quarter chicken and chips to satiate my appetite.
TENDAI
You have to pay for it.
TEMBO
How long is your shift?
TENDAI
Until midnight.
TEMBO
Give me the chicken and chips!!
TENDAI
Not for the whole KFC. Voetsek!
I've "known" them since they were little. Street urchins by the Lomagundi traffic lights, foraging for a living, picking up donations from drivers at the intersection. They then went on to directing traffic when there was no ZESA. Little boys stopping massive trucks and risking life and limb for measly tips.
Since those memories, I've seen the one at the Sam Nujoma and Aberdeen/Churchill lights. He is now selling windscreen wiper sponges and he smiles and waves, even though I am not buying.
Last week a tall, lanky youth came to my car window at the King George intersection with Aberdeen. I didn't recognize him until he smiled and asked where my mother and the Honda CRV were. I unfortunately couldn't buy his luxury toilet rolls and the lights changed. I realized I don't even know their names.
My sister has been living in England since 2015. When she and her husband visited Zimbabwe in 2017, my brother-in-law felt it was a culture shock, primarily with regard to our domestic help system, which he feels is ongoing colonialism. My sister feels very strongly about this now too and is of the opinion we do not pay our gardener enough. At that point in time he was earning more than I was.
I personally think that whilst domestic help is not ideal, it does at least offer employment and benefits. For instance, children of domestic helpers are sent to school and this hopefully offers them better employment options than their parents. It also means their families are kept from living in dire poverty and have an income each month.
When I look at the ever increasing number of people living on the street and begging for their existence, I believe that offering jobs should not be sniveled at.
We get a steady stream of beggars coming to our gate. Some only want money but some are happy with a bottle of water or a cup of tea and a peanut butter sandwich. It is hard to tell if some of the stories for money are genuine.
We are a bit wary of beggars that come at dusk. My friend's mother was shot dead at her gate one evening in June 2007. We therefore ask that people only come in daylight.
The number who come can sometimes feel relentless and some seem very desperate. I am angry that our government has failed these people and offers no buffer to poverty.
