UNPAID WORK, SACRIFICE , LETS JOIN HANDS TO SUSTAIN OUR COMMUNITY

Yes, unpaid work or responsibilities at times tend to make a hecticsacrifice.

Meanwhile there are those responsibilities that are know as natural in our community . \\majority of women found their ancestral grandmothers not grandfathers attending to such responsibilitiesas cooking food for your family, drawing water from the rivers, fetching firewood, going to cultivate your farm etc.

in every household there herds of cattle-goatsor to feed, give water,milk and take milk to the Milk Dairies)plant,

The children are waiting for you to cook food, bathing your children. washing their clothes. (House Chores)

All these work is done bywomen in rural areas.

When women get married and dowry is paid you are expected to do all these abovework, failure to that you are labeledas a lazy woman some are beaten and taken back to theirparents. Imagine after doing all that donkey work.

Thehusband and his clan complain that the herd of cattle and goatsthat were taken to your parents got lost.

So, women wake upearly and sleep late after midnight, even there they have no peace they find their husbands waiting for them.

Iwas invited in a Women Workshop in Nairobi, Most of the counties in Kenya there was a representative, We were sharing on different topics.

A woman from those remote/primitive areas narrated to us, about their culture. she was telling us that women are beasts of burden in their community, Theydo all the house hold work, they cultivate their farms, bringing up their children etc.

Building the round mud /shelters they live in are built by women. They call women friends and assist them in preparing mud and then they complete the shelter by using the mud. It is a donkey work.

Women Workshop} participants couldnot believe what they heard from the lady.

That when a woman gives birth, the infant sucks only one breast either left or right she specified, the other one is for his husband to suck!!! Imagine that...Women complained bitterly, calling those husbands names,

Women were asking the lady why do you get married in that community, is it a must that you get married in such a hostile Community. In short it was hectic.

In most cases allthese is natural once you are married and that is why dowry was paid to your parents. No one recognizes it, It is culture\\natural.

It is unpaid workmay be to Western World.

May be the work that is done by Women Volunteers at the grassroots in the slums is the one which should be considered as Unpaid work,

There are those who cannot do a free work without pay most of them are attached to NGOs where they are paid Allowances, lunch they work for 2 to three hours, They are classified asVolunteers.

There are those real Volunteers who work for the common good of the poorest of the poor in the slums. They work throughout, caring for the sick, the orphans.the older persons, the disabled, the Youth and assist in solving the Gender Based Violence cases at the grassroots.

They work is too muchdue to poverty.The Volunteersare passionate in serving the poor, they are used.they are kind and loving, they serve all without discrimination. Most of them depend on GOD they know that GOD is Love they work to the best of their ability in serving HIS poor. All these is unpaid work but majority of those women enjoy and have peace in their life. They go out of their way to assist to the end/accomplish the poor peoplesgoal.

Am a Catholic and I started volunteering long time ago, so we were in a group known as LEGIO MARIA ( MARIA mother of JESUS)we were taught that when you feed the hungry you are doing it for JESUS and mother MARY so when we met. One reported whatever Volunteer Work you have done during that week.I went to visit prisoners in prison, or sick in a Hospital, or you fed a Street boy etc.. All these is Volunteer work.

The Hindus, Indians in our Country are very generous in assisting the poor

In 2009, there was a Hindu Foundation which helped the disabled with Wheel chairs. There is a disabled woman in my community who did not have a Wheel Chair. Igot a Taxi and took the Disabled woman. Till now they even assist in educating the poor.

There was a very kind Hindu lady. who had prepared delicious lunch. when we were planning to leave. The Hindu lady came to us and requested us not to leave her meal.

She served the foodso well, she enjoyed serving us.I thanked her for the delicious food. She informed me that, it is in them that when they help the poor-needy they are blessed. They lovedassisting the needy.

You see, all these is unpaid work, done by those who have a big heart, kind, generous, loving they share what they have with the poor.

So, if all our communities can havesuch GOD fearing women we would reduce suffering in most communities.There are also considerate NGOs and their volunteers that are concerned and assist the communities needs appropriate. GOD will bless them abundantly as we strive to sustain our Communities World Wide,

TERESA

WORLD PULSE VOCAL LEADER

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