Dwatika

This is Dwatika. She is my maidservant. What? My grandfather once wrote, "No man is good enough to be another man's master". Of course I am not Dwatika's master.Of course not. I did not ask for Dwatika. She came with my house. If I let her go, which was my first thought, she would lose a job. That would be the end of the world for her. Her husband is very sick. My sister thinks that he may have AIDS. Dwatika told her he is just skin and bones and cannot get out of bed. They have 2 children, younger than mine.

It is so weird having another person come in and do my dishes, laundry, and floors. I try not to have any dishes. I make my bed as soon as I get up. Having a maidservant has made me more diligent about keeping my space clean. I hate to see her do anything. I am not just saying that. I really do.

She is such a hard worker. Last year she ran a sugarcane juice stand and got her hand stuck in the press. She is just now regaining use of her hand. For awhile Jo was just giving her money because she really couldn't do anything. She is a proud woman and I am sure it pained her to receive a stipend for doing nothing.

At night I see her at her vegetable stand down the street. She never seems to stop. We communicate with sign language. She is probably younger than me, I am not sure.

Dwatika is a daily reminder to me that I should never,ever take my lot in life for granted. I am a lucky,lucky person and all of you who are reading this from your very own computers should feel the same. It is so easy for us to take our creature comforts for granted. I have never been one to preach (I swear to God), but this cries out to me everyday. It is amazing how easy it is for us to plod through life,and how hard it is for others. We are all in the same world, but you would never know it.