Nshima, and nothing but nshima

We had an odd theme today, July 20th, a regular old Tuesday in the life of those of us at Special Hope.

Remember as I tell you this story, that the basic meal for all Zambians for ALL meals is Nshima, a cornmeal porridge, that is eaten thicker than a porridge, more like the consistency of play dough, and is eaten with the right hand, rolled into a ball, and eaten with different ndiyos on top (”relishes”), such as little fish, beans, greens sauteed with onions and tomatoes, and very little else. In this way, a whole family can eat off of ONE PLATE, not each person sitting at a table with their own plate and silverware. Most families do not have full sets of silverware, place settings, cups, and even tables.

So this morning, I gave some greens we had been given yesterday by our landlord’s family to our garden worker, Mr. Daka. He was very grateful, and thanked me, and thanked me and thanked me. (Can you imagine a father in the US being overwhelmingly grateful for a bunch of chinese greens?) He has not been bringing food with him, though he works at our home all day. I asked him whether he has food to bring with him, and he said yes, but his eyes said no. It was a humbling moment for me, as I realized that his pride couldn’t admit how little he had, so I have to just take food out to him and assume it is in addition to what he is ‘bringing’ with him. To do other would shame him, and that would be very bad. I gave him some citrus from our trees to go with his greens and reminded him that everything he plants and cares for in our garden his family will benefit from….

Let me also take a step back here, to explain another layer. There are no McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, or any other easy to buy fast food. People just simply don’t have the money, so there isn’t the demand. So, for a man like our garden worker, who has a full-time job, his full salary will pay his rent, water, and electricity, and leave little else for food, and we are paying him well by Zambian standards. He would not have tupperware to carry leftovers, or any easy-to-carry snack foods. Remember my post early on about so wishing for granola bars or dried fruit from America because there are so few purchasable foods that are easy to carry with you? Aside from pieces of fresh fruit, Zambian food is not easy to carry. Nshima is hot, and cooked, and not saved for another meal. Mothers know exactly how much to make for the amount of people eating, without wasting a single grain of cornmeal. We never see people eating food out and about. It seems hunger is a norm here, when we feel the urge to fix that problem at its first provocation!

The next interaction I had was with our home worker, Mrs. Mulenga. She has been sewing some of the curtains we need, since my sewing machine is in the US, and I wanted to make sure she had enough money to make it to the end of the month, when she wants to be paid. She told me she does want to be paid at the end of the month, but if she could have $50,000KW today ($10), that would be helpful because all she has in her house to eat is nshima. Unlike Americans who are prone to exaggeration, such as “I have no food in the house, I need to go shopping”, when we really have canned goods, food in the freezer, and things on the shelf, but we just don’t have the extras to make abundant meals. She really meant that she only had a bag of Mealie Meal (nshima uncooked). I gave her the $50,000 kw….

Then we went to the home of our Nyanja teacher, and had our lesson. Beth and Nancy made us Nshima for a snack, while Maggie and Mollie and I watched (they were both on the edge of a full-blown fall apart rampage). The ONLY food in her kitchen, where 11 people live, is Nshima. We took her 5 bags of fresh produce we had bought for her this morning at the market when we bought our vegetables for the week. When I saw her kitchen, I was doubly glad we had taken her vegetables. As we did our lesson, her son Taonga peeled an orange, and handed some of the peeled slices to Nancy as she talked with us, which was very tender. 11 people, one giant bag of nshima, and nothing else in sight…..

The final step in the lesson for the day was that our previous garden worker, from the house we stayed in when we first arrived, called to say that he needed our help to assist him. To make a long story short, in trying to procure the title for his “house”, which is a small plot of land with a partially built cement block wall on it, he used his whole salary for the month. He had to do this in order to get water for his family at his “house”, since he couldn’t hook up to city water without the title. He was humbling himself before us to ask if we could help him, since all he had for the next 10 days until July 30th when he gets paid again (and he is paid quite well by Zambian standards) was one partial bag of Nshima, which might cover the next day or so…

I tell you all this, because I am learning lessons, not to produce guilt in you as you read. We are all used to abundance. Abundance of food. Abundance of variety of food. Abundance of availability of food. Abundance of availability of a variety of food, wherever we are. Others around the world are not so surrounded by choice as we are. What would your family do if you fed them polenta without salt for every meal for a week? My family would (and actually DID) revolt. Maggie’s face today, when she was served nshima with beef kidneys for her snack, was embarrassing to me as a Mom who doesn’t want to offend others. Beth held her face much more stoically than Maggie, but inside was quite revolted. Mollie was less horrified, and ate happily, since Nancy was rolling her balls of nshima and putting them into her mouth for her- which she loved! But, I have clearly trained them with variety and abundance! Maggie was horrified, and kept huffing her disapproval. I have some pictures of it, but I’m not too proud to post them.

So, as you pray for us, pray for those we serve. Today we were in direct contact, and able to affect the lives of four families in dire financial need. Please pray for wisdom as we give, that we would know how much to give, and how to give in a way that doesn’t take away the pride the folks here have in their work, or shame them in any way. Pray for the Daka family, the Mulenga family, the Zimba family, and the Lungu family.

And, for those of you carefully following our stories, please continue to pray for baby Brighton. He is now eating 4 1/2 bottles of formula each day, and has started to smile, and his Mama says he is happy and satisfied! Praise God!

Posted by admin on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 7:52 pm 
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