MAID OH MAID, WHY?

MAID OH MAID...WHAT HATH THOU BROUGHT IN MY HOUSE

In a today's world, women have taken up challenges to emancipate
themselves from the york of being "full house wives". More and more
females are geared to ascending the ladder of attaining higher
educational statuses. But at the same time, family also demands its own
challenges.


In an attempt to balance the two equations, many women have taken to
picking up maids as their aid to some other household chores, such as
cookery, laundry, cleaning the house and tending to their infants as
well as their children if any. But what is the price?


According to 3rd degree investigators in South Africa and Zambia branch,
they argue that 13 out of every 20 working females have a maid or a
servant of some sort at home.


Further, 3rd Degree reports that, child tending by maids is as common
and normal just like other duties maids perform.


However, one sad report noted was that, "in one of the household in
central Lusaka , a couple was having problems at home with their first
child.

The lad was only 9 months old but was already becoming a sickler kind of
child. He was in and out of hospital much to the anguish and torment of
the new parents.

One afternoon, the mother decided to see a private doctor, who upon
doing a thorough  medical check up, decided to ask for the consent of
the parents if he could be allowed to carry out an HIV/AIDS test for the
child, to which the parents obliged.

A test showed that the new infant was positive with HIV 3+ the worst and
most devastating of the 3 HIV viruses so far discovered. It is believed
to be transmitted and propelled through infection and re-infections.

N.B It is the reason as to why medics advise couples to use condoms even
if  both are infected so as to reduce  re- infections which is more
strenuous even for the ARV's to contain as the cells are weakened more
and more due to a continued HIV load.

The mother took offence in this however, obliged and demanded that her
hubby be tested too. She could not hide her emotions and blasted at her
husband as being responsible for the illness that has be fallen the
house.

However, the man remained calm and said that he too, was surprised that
their baby was HIV+ but assured the woman that he was not an infidel and
was faithful to his marriage vows but this fell on deaf ears.

And so it was that tests were carried out on the couple luckily none of
the two was positive. They were both negative and healthy. They went to
3 other test centres but the results continued showing negative.

This brought about a mis-understanding between the wife and the Doctor.
However, a calm elderly doctor asked if at all there was any other
person living with them at home and indeed they said they had a maid.

The doctor asked them to be very cautious with her and that she should
be brought to the clinic without disclosing any information for he
thought he could handle her properly.

That too was done, the maid was brought to the doctor, who as always,
with patience and objectivity, counseled the maid and asked her if he
could carry out the blood tests on her including HIV/AIDS to which she
consented.

The tests showed HIV 3+ on her. Meaning she had been infected and
re-infected time and again. He asked her, in the absence of the couple,
how well she kept the baby.

The maid willingly said, at times the baby would cry a lot and so
hopelessly refuse the feeding bottle, she would feel for the child and
since she loved him, she would then breast feed the child upon which the
child would stop crying and fall asleep. And that continued for a long
time.

It was at this juncture that the doctor discovered the 'roots' of the
child's sickness.

He called the couple counseled them and informed them of the situation.
The woman could not help weeping and wailing so much so that, the hate
for the maid was all over her face. Though she had promised not to beat
the maid, it was only the power of her husband and the doctor that saved
the maid from receiving 'hard blows'.

After some weeks and after the child had died, the husband decided to go
to see the doctor and thank him for his professional skills in respect
to how he discovered and handled the whole thing.

Out of curiosity, during the conversion, the man asked how the doctor
figured out that it could be a third party involved with the illness of
their child.

The doctor calmly explained that, he had a similar incidenct occurring
before, that was even worse in that, besides the baby, one couple had
even two other children aged 3 and 5 getting infected because, their
maid was in the habit of using toothbrushes belonging to the kids.

The very first thing she would do when she reported for work, was to
clean up herself and take the courtesy of using free toothpaste but
since she always forgot to buy herself a toothbrush, she would settle
for any of the two toothbrushes around, unfortunately , which belonged
to the other two children. She would then take them on the routine
clean- ups before going to school.

Sadly though, she had bruises in her mouth and immediately she finished
brushing her teeth she straight away put the toothpaste on the brush and
hurriedly gave the child to brush his teeth as well. This was done in an
attempt to meet her time target of getting the kids to school in time,
giving no time for the toothbrush to dry up.

Whoops! The man vowed never to employ the maid, if he should employ one
in future, he prayed for the passionate educated of the maids before
hiring them. Never take maids for granted. Take precautions and counsel
your maids in all areas or you would cry foul.

You just never know what goes on at home...you spend most of your day
time during week - days at work, not so? So please try to educate your
maid. It's important, very important. Least your child is breastfed or
someone using your, and your child's toothbrush.

                        MAID OH MAID....WHY YOU?