14We follow Maree and her family through the partially-fenced garden. The front door opens into the living room, where a picture of Jesus smiles down. The room is bare except for a TV, VCR, stack of videos in one corner and one chair. Mali, the husband, puts on a video and collapses into the chair. The house has two fluorescent lights, one in the living room and one in the kitchen. I drop my pack against a wall and follow Maree into the kitchen.
‘Is this all you have to cook on?’ I try to keep my voice even, staring at a single- element kerosene stove.
‘Yes. I heat all our water and cook all our meals here. I must apologize. We don’t have running water at the moment. Something has broken.’
‘I’m used to camping and living on a boat. Life is very simple there too, so don’t worry.’
The ho
