THE WEEK OF A MJENGO SUPERVISOR

MONDAY

I arrive at my work place late but find out that my men are not yet there. Apparently they are nursing the weekend hangover. They start arriving one by one and most of the day is spent on arguing . We  end up not accomplishing our target for the day. Call it Monday blues if you like.

TUESDAY
My men seem not to be in a good mood today. Clearly some sense of coordination is lacking and I seem to be losing control. They demand for lunch from me and I manage to buy them a plate of githeri and a cup of uji each. The working day ends on a bad note when one of the workers falls from the roof and is rushed to the nearby dispensary.


WEDNESDAY

There are many jobless youth around and that makes it easy for me to find a replacement for the injured worker. Little or no experience is needed in this mjengo business. I get a call from another client who instructs me to use a plan availed earlier to dig up a foundation. Later in the evening I receive the first payment of the week. I have to sort out family finances and that means my men will come later. When confronted by the agitated workers, I stage a disappearing act and that saves the day.

THURSDAY
 My men, predictably, do not report to work and so I am forced to look for a new set. Today I have two constructions to supervise and that translates to a lot of walking and shouting. My son is sent home to collect school fees and so I take an afternoon off to sort him out.

FRIDAY
Cracks have begun to emerge on walls we have been working on all week. Eventually a section of the wall collapses and we have to repair it quickly lest I lose the confidence of my client. I receive some payment from client 2 and I use the money to pay the disgruntled workers. 


SATURDAY

This kind of job knows no weekend .Today I am very thorough in giving out instructions and supervision. I am careful not to have another wall collapses. Those who caused the mess get a tongue lashing from me and we retire early, being a Saturday.

SUNDAY

Temptations are high in this work. While in church I keep thinking of what to do with some two bags of cement that had remained. The owner doesn’t know about it and so this should be my moment of good luck. Meanwhile the pastor is preaching about the importance of honesty but before he finishes, I get a call from my client instructing me to meet him at construction site immediately for another payment.