Prime
Coping without a maid
What you need to know:
Running a home without the help of a maid is never easy. It is even a tougher job when there are children in the picture. Despite this, some women have managed to run their homes without a house maid. Three mothers share their experiences with Esther Oluka.
My mother’s home was handy
“I have never employed a maid. I have always done everything on my own. When Peter was still a baby, I would wake up at 4am and prepare myself for work.
Then, I would bathe, dress, feed and later drop him off at my mother’s place. At around 7pm after work, I would go and pick him up and we head back home. At this particular time, I would be very tired, but I had to make sure that I did all the work.
Balancing such motherhood, office and wifely duties was really overwhelming for me. But I am grateful that spending too much time with my son helped us bond a lot. We are now the best of friends.” Bernadette Namugwanya, head teacher and mother of Peter Emmanuel Ngobi, nine years.
Non-resident nannies
“I have not had a maid for the past three years. I have employed the services of three maids. Two of them were non-resident, they would come to work and leave at the end of the day. The last one had stayed with us for more than two years and she had become part of the family. When she suddenly decided to quit, she broke my heart and I decided not to hire any house help again.
It is difficult living without a maid, but I must say that so far, the advantages outnumber the disadvantages.
Everyone in the house, including my 11 and seven-year-old children, has become more independent, responsible and creative because we do everything by ourselves. The expenses on some things have also reduced especially on charcoal,” Joy Mirembe Abola also known as Min Atek, Full Woman columnist.
Stay-at- home mother
“Polio left me crippled at the age of three. I cannot stand. I move from one place to another by crawling on my hands and feet. Despite that, I have been able to have and raise my six children without the help of any maid. I remember when my first child was born, my husband was very helpful in the feeding and bathing them.
Despite the fact that the nature of his business that often required him to be away from home. He is a businessman. Sometimes my mother and sisters often came by to give a hand. Each of them quite eased motherhood for me. All my children help with house chores.
It is easy since they study on day programme. The first thing I do after waking in the morning is assign each one a house chore. I will delegate one to clean the house and another to wash utensils. Meanwhile, I will send another to go and collect water from the stream and another to fix breakfast. The good thing about my children is that they always listen to the instructions I normally tend to give them.
My eldest child, Sharon Nakakawa is 12 years while the youngest; Dinah Nansereko is one year old. Even when they are not around, I can still perform the chores on my own. I will cook, wash and tend my one year old daughter without any kind of difficulty. I have never found the value of hiring a maid because it would be wastage of money. I can look after my children all by myself since I am even a housewife,” Scovia Namulondo, disabled mother of six children
