Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The 'Other' Family...'Household'

This is what I call the family 'other' family. It is very clear that there is a vast distinction between my earlier post of The Family to this one which is more rural than urban!
Families may take any form, shape, size and even colour depending on one's geographical location. In Africa, the family is what we term as 'Household'-where families reside or co-exist in an apartment or a single room unit. Such occupants may be a nuclear family or an extended family for that matter who share basically a common space. Lets look at a typical rural household where the livelihoods of the family is basically farming. Families whose means of subsistence is farming, lack a lot of  infrastructure and other basic amenities that is readily available to the urban family unit but their values of survival does not diminish with deprivation or a mere lack of these.

Survival is the name of the game amongst many rural households in many developing African countries. The family lives on the produce of the land (which is sustainability at its prime!) :) and ensures there is constant reproduction on their lands by practicing sustainable farming. Little do these rural folks know about the word "sustainability" but they are not only cutting cost but also protecting the environment and ensuring their survival which is their main aim. In instances where they are able to produce more than what their family need, they sell the rest for some money to cater for other basic necessities as water and in rare cases put their children in local schools.

What comes to mind at this time of blogging is the support of the family in such deprived rural areas. For us Africans, the family value is held in utmost high veneration. Barbara Bush once said and i quote "To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there" unquote. I love this quote personally as it does not speak only with regards to the family but to the entire human race. We ought to care and love one another as the scripture says in 1 John 4:7-8 ---
"Dear friends, let us love one one another, for love comes form God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love". (NIV)

3 comments:

  1. You are good at what you do, Adwoa. I would revisit this.

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  2. Thanks for this. As someone who works with farmers I know for sure what this is about...living from hand to mouth and being dependent on the onset of the rain and all that...it is a pity but they still have happiness within them.

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  3. Thanks for stopping by and sharing Nana.

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