Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

Our Broom

Most brooms here are sold without handles.  It is not that they have a place for the handle to fit and you just have to provide your own.  No.  The brooms here are handheld and Tanzanians just bend over to sweep.  Our banda floor can get pretty dirty if we don’t sweep it between our weekly campsite-provided cleanings.  So, I bought one while I was in town on Saturday.  It cost me 300 Tanzanian Shillings, the equivalent of about $0.25.  Nice.

I got home and gladly showed Dana my purchase and that I’m a good husband by using it.  She asked if it hurt my back to bend over like that and sweep.  It really didn’t but I can see how it puts me at risk considering my back history.  Then, I remembered that we had a scrub brush with a long handle.  So, I unscrewed it, used some trusty packing tape, and am now able to sweep upright.

Resourcefulness is key out here.