She's a keeper

Great news!  We have received word that our work permits have finally been approved.  After 5 weeks of waiting for these government workers at the Immigration office to process the paperwork at a pace comparable to that of a snail, we can see the end in sight!  Who knows when the official documentation will actually be ready, but once we have them in our hot little hands our container can receive the authorization to be shipped from the U.S.  We are told we can expect it to arrive in Zambia 3 months after it leaves the U.S. port (hopefully by January 2012).  What a blessing it will be to receive our beloved container; living out of a suitcase is getting old. 

A new recent development also includes the hiring of two employees to our home.  It seems that wherever we go, people are constantly asking us if we have a job for them or if we have need for a maid.  While Americans are lamenting the high unemployment rate of 9%, Zambia is also facing a crisis with an unemployment rate that is significantly higher.  So it seems everyone is trying to seek a stable job. 

We agreed to hire a maid. Not necessarily because we absolutely need help in the home.  More so to contribute to the Zambian economy.  Regina is a petite, young mother of three.  She was referred to us by our gardener, who grew up with Regina and knew she was in need of a job.  Previously she had been employed by a Lebanese family of seven.  She was not happy with that job because her hours were long (12 hours a day, 6 days a week), her wages were low (~$2/day), she had a lot to clean (the house was big), she had to wash a lot of clothes (for seven people), and she had many mouths to cook for. We told her we’d start her at almost $3/day, working 8 hours a day, 4.5 days a week.  Then, if she proved to be reliable and hard-working we could increase her wages.  At least there are only 2 of us to cook/clean/wash for.  Today was her first day on the job.  It was clear she was a professional cleaner.  She's definitely a keeper.  Hopefully, she can grow to become a part of our family.  

 

The other individual we hired was our gardener.  Triwell is already employed by our landlord to keep our grounds around our house.  He asked for $1/day to build and upkeep our garden; this will supplement his salary.  Hopefully once our garden gets up and running, we’ll have our own organic fruits and vegetables.  Can’t wait!