Sounds of Maputo

This morning I was thinking about my life here. I stopped to listen and smiled at the familiar sound of Maputo. Not traffic or loud noises but the gentle quite brushing of a broom while the guard was sweeping the sidewalk. Now that could be viewed as an insignificant sound, easily drowned out by the other chaos of the day, but to me it was more than a noise. It was the familiarity of what I heard. It made me realize that each day I live here it becomes more and more like home. The sound of the sweeping is a cue to my head that I am in Maputo. The sound instantly makes me know that my guard is here and my family is safe. There is someone at my gate to inquire, "Who’s ringing the bell and what business do you have here?". It is the sound that signifies my empragada is hard at work with my precious Mia close behind. It is the security that comes from knowing that nothing is amiss and today is ordinary just like every other day. You see in Mozambique there are very few “conveniences of life”. Few homes have vacuums, dishwashers or microwaves or other appliances that make lots of noise. There are only persistent sweepers who tackle the day’s dirt and dust with a ferociousness that puts me to shame.

Mozambicans don’t have much in the eyes of the world. Their homes are often small and sometimes not what we Americans would consider livable. But what they do have has come at a cost and as a result they are proud and take care of their belongings. They do not live in the disposable era that we all know so well, but rather they live in the moment appreciating what they have. I have never asked them to sweep my sidewalks, but to my Mozambican friends there is a deeper message. A clean sidewalk is a welcome message to those that pass by that this is a place someone cares about. This is a home that matters. So as I listen to the steady rhythmic sweeping on the sidewalk outside I seem to hear a melody, which repeats, “Life is good in your corner of the world!”