Domestic Workers

Michele Alexander (Voden) · July 12, 2007, 07:50:09 PM

I don't know if, as like the furniture, the domestic worker was part of the package but I do remember having some really good men work in the house. One was Petrus and the other Vilo. I can remember they used to do the housework, dishes, ironing, etc. and they also used to look after us when my folks went out of an evening. They were issued with lunchpacks everyday and they always used to give my brother and myself the cake/sweet that they got in their lunchpack, only on every second day though as they used to wait until they had one for each of us! My mom always gave them supper in the evening so I know they didn't go hungry! They were always extremely proud when their families came to visit and couldn't wait to introduce his Oranjemund family to his native family and vice versa.
The male domestic workers were done away with a number of years ago to be replaced by female - funny that a lot of the households then didn't want female workers cleaning their houses.

Ann Gander (nee Greenway) · July 13, 2007, 07:04:04 AM

Back in the '60s we had a wonderful domestic worker called Oiwa. He cared for us all so much. He came from Ovamboland. He watched over me like a doting uncle, kindly mending anything I'd broken in the house before my parents got home! And he loved washing. I remember my mother bought a beautiful Japanese statue with all her silk regalia whilst on holiday in Durban - and he washed it after only a couple of weeks because he thought it had got a bit dirty! The statue was no moe ... His ironing was so precise, and he always had the biggest smile on his face. My parents always made sure he was well cared for and that he had a big bag of useful goodies to take back to his family when he had his break. When my sister left for boarding school, he cried. And we all cried together when we left OM

Michael Alexander · July 13, 2007, 08:00:00 AM

We had a guy called Jeremiah, he fixed our bikes andtaught us to hunt birds with the catapults he built us. He was part of the family, even playing pool in the lounge with us. Never drank or swore till he moved the mine at 90's , he retired only 3 months ago.

When he returned from the North , he brought us a woven basket with our family name and street address on it.... awesome...

:'(

SandyB · July 13, 2007, 02:11:44 PM

Yes our domestic help .. It was like being in the colonies , Ok we did not have hordes of help as they had .. But yes we had our Domestic worker and you could get a garden helper as well .. something ordinary folk in the cities did not have ... I remember Rastus and Michael , it was the same sort of thing that you all talk about , although they had 6 month contracts they became an itegral part of our lives , I was in many ways raised by Rastus and Michael as my Mom worked .. so their job was to look after us as well , even reporting really bad behaviour , ( they would cover for the minor things ) I look back in great fondness to their input in our lives , I remember tears when either one had to go back , I suppose for them missing their family they semi adopted us kids to fill the void , and even though they were going back to their families they missed us too .. I Remember Michael giving me hell the first time he saw me drunk . told me he did not expect that from me and that I should be ashamed ... Ouch !! So yes they left a lasting impression on us cos they were good ordinary honest folk . The parting gifts each time they left , my folks were generous there , the small gift from them on return all cemented a good working and personal relationship ... I battled with the concept of "servants " in the respect that they ate separately , it was just they way it was and is still .. however I used to break the rules If my folks were out or away and I was alone at teh house in the evening with either .. I would prepare a supper and we would both sit and eat at the same table .. Michael used to give me this puzzled look of ' crazy child " but enjoyed my caring back i suppose as a token of appreciation .. he also used to see me at the hostel with my camera taking pictures of the men posing at their beer halls , I would return with pictures to give them (parents expense I would always ask for extras without their know how ) so he just accepted the "crazy" childs behaviour ..
Yes to Michael and Rastus wherever you are .. through all these years I have never forgotten .....

Michael Alexander · July 20, 2007, 12:42:35 PM

In the very beginning when we got here '72, we had a domestic called Jaffe' , magic guy, I think, according to my dad, ran away to fight for SWAPO in the busg, and then disapperared for 2 decades, to resurface one day in Casey's ( Coolbox) as a doctor... strange world we live in...

:-\

Michele Alexander (Voden) · July 22, 2007, 01:38:46 PM

Was busy looking for Darryl's soccer club float photo when I came across a picture of my brother and myself with our domestic Petrus:

brandonvdw · August 03, 2007, 03:45:28 PM

we had johannes, a large man over 6ft tall, a gentle giant who used to protect my sister and i from alll, including begging my mom not to smack us if we were naughty and going to get a hiding.

he was a legend and very patient with me being so naughty.

My cousin shane gavin had Crispy[nickname-cant remember real name] the guy was like a 5 star chef, learnt from my aunt and he ended up taking over often doing the lunch thing or dinner, .....

what great people they were as they were like the family

Barbara du Plessis (nee Winstanley) · August 03, 2007, 07:36:35 PM

...and we had "Romance" - who, when my folks died in OM, cried as if he were one of us kids. Remember him sitting me on the ironing board in the laundry and cleaning my school shoes (to be perfect for school of course) and not getting a smudge of polish on my beautiful (omo!!) white socks. Very special man and still think of him - the "domestics" were certainly very much part of our lives.

Robert Bruce · August 04, 2007, 05:45:42 AM

Yes, it is amazing to see how all of you were impacted by your domestic. We had Gideon and Petrus. Gideon went back to Ovamboland. He was most important to me as a kid. Used to ride me around town on a bike!

As I remember, they had to wear all white with the whitte cap. Not casual smart as in Michelle's photo.

The Ovambo are so incredibly family orientated. It made parting very difficult. Like it or not, they were a member of the family and we all remember them so vividly to this day. That goes to show what value they added to our lives. Fantastic.

barb (Fry) · August 07, 2007, 02:37:40 PM

I was taught to iron by our man, and he'd bring us peanuts and woven baskets as presents.
we showed him books and pictures of the sea.
always there he was, in his white uniform and cap.
the men all seemed to go the the toilet at the same time, and sit under the trees shooting the wind.

Michael Alexander · August 07, 2007, 07:09:34 PM

Kinda like how woman all go to the toulet at the same time I guess! ;D

barb (Fry) · August 09, 2007, 07:14:16 PM

some girls I believe travel in packs!!

Shola Schreuder · August 23, 2007, 07:55:01 AM

Ours was Jason! He was wonderful, did absolutely EVERYTHING in the house, we were all spoilt! He left us when us kids went to high school and worked for the mine. The next guy we had - Thomas - was with us for 7 yrs afterwards. When Damien died, Jason came to the funeral and our house afterwards and cried like a parent who had just lost his child. And that was about 4-5yrs after he had left us...

They were GREAT!!

Delia · August 23, 2007, 11:13:07 AM

brandon - tx for reminding me of old crispy working at shane & jay's - magic dude! always a smile on his face.

we had 2 guys working for us from the time we were babies-they alternated when going on expat-when the 1 went, the other 1 came back. reinhold (reini) & mattheus - i remember the 1 time we took reini with us for a braai at the beach and he sat the whole day just staring at the ocean - if i remember correctly it was the first time he'd even seen the sea. he ate his lunch just staring at the ocean.

they were such gentle souls - the 1 and only time i ever remember any of them getting angry was when i opened the fridge roughly one day and all the eggs fell out onto the freshly washed kitchen floor - can't remember if it was reini or mattheus but i got a gentle pat on the bum (their version of a klap) for this. on the odd occassion when the folks went out without us at night (diamond queen ball, lodge ladies nights) they would babysit - i would sit on the large ironing table we had while he ironed and i would "teach" him english and he would teach me oshiwambo. i always begged him to let me iron but he only ever let me do the pillow cases and handkerchiefs - obviously didn't want me burning any of the clothes and getting the blame for it.

they were our protectors and caretakers to the nth degree - one day i walked out of the front door to be greeted by a snake lying basking in the sun right in front of me - my screams brought mattheus running who grabbed the garden rake and did what he had to do. no fear, just reacted 'cos i was in danger. he went on another snake catching mission when lance and his buddies brought a snake home from the desert and it got loose in the house - mattheus found it lying coiled up in the cord of our heater and again did what he had to do.

one of them again came to my rescue, damn wish i could remember which one, when lance and his buddies were inspecting the drain in the back garden and didn't put the lid back properly. i walked over it and fell in catching onto the edge just in time. again my screams brought reini/mattheus running and pulled me out - put me under his arms and ran me a bath to get rid of all the gunk. makes me wonder if i'd be around today if it wasn't for them.

yes, they treated us like their extended family - sometimes going way beyond the call of what was expected of them. myself and reini's daughter used to write to each other and he was always so proud to show his family up north photos of us. every time they came back from up north, they would bring us presents - i still have one of woven baskets that one of them brought my mom.

SandyB · August 23, 2007, 01:20:53 PM

Delia ,Shola .. wonderful words and recollections and honouring of those special gentle people in our growing up years ...

Sandy