welcome April 12, 2004 Issue

More than just getting by

Kim Shippey

Alongside a dirt road that winds through several farms on the southeast coast of South Africa, a man labors from dawn till dusk every day, working a small vegetable patch that is his only source of livelihood.

When I was visiting last month, I noticed that the chip-chip-chip of his trowel is audible over the occasional call of a blackeyed bulbul. Many people would say that this wizened 75-plus-year-old, named Khumalo, is just getting by. He lives in one room in a humble house nearby, and has no visible source of income.

But as my family has come to know him as they pass his workplace several times a day, they sense that he has a peace of mind that is way beyond just getting by. His smile could light a village!

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