Every once in a while, one comes across a person whose resilience, dedication
and firmness of purpose makes them stand out. To me, at this time that
individual is a tall sixty year old from my home village of Demfai. Bai Mamat
as we call him lives right next to our home and for years has symbolized the
very best of village life. With a quick laugh and disarming charm, he enjoys
very warm relationships with all villagers often acting as a primary
conciliator when occasional arguments come up. He also has a very strong work
ethic putting long hours on the relatively big fields he is known to have
cultivated over the years. As a result of his devotion to work and family, he
is among the few in the village to be both self sufficient in the food they
produce and also make extra to invest in livestock. Conservative by nature,
Bai Mamat insisted on similar work ethics for his kids who must also log long
hours doing backbreaking work. Sadly he would not agree to any of them going
to school insisting they would do just fine if they worked hard and took care
of their families. His sons married early and are by all indications working
hard on the farms out there in Demfai. But perhaps as sign of changing times,
his eldest son has begun to diverisfy a bit by both farming and trying his
hand at free enterprise by catering to the Tobaski Market at Abuko once a
year. He brings in sheep in the last few weeks before Tobaski and cater to
last minute buyers. He tells me it is a pretty  good return on the modest
investments he makes buying them in the lean times of the rainy season from
area Lumos. With increasing volume and profitability, i predict he would
endup being in the livestock business with the same work ethic inculcated
into him by his hardworking dad .
      After forty years of backbreaking work under the harsh baking sun ,
Mamat Fatim has managed to scrape together enough money to buy himself a D29,
000 airplane ticket to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj. This is by far the
single most important thing for him. He has travelled to Serrekunda and with
the unreliability of the flight schedules of G.I.A only God knows if this man
who has worked so hard for so long would ultimately reach his destination on
time. His case is an example of a good man who has always worked hard and
played by the rules and has in his own rights gotten to where he aimed for.
With a slight stoop from years of tilling the ground with a hoe, he expects
to go into semi retirement upon his return spending most of his days  at the
seniors Pencha right next to the mosque, twisting boabab fibres to make
restraining strings for his livestock, helping with peanut deshelling and
chatting with his friends and fellow retirees.
         I wish him a safe trip and a successful pilgrimage. May God bless him
 Karamba

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