Another day, another life. That was the motto Henry lived and greeted you by.
Born and raised on the streets, he lived a hard life but never complained. He
came to our gate one Saturday afternoon and instead of begging, had rough and
ready crafts he wanted to sell. Candles inside egg shells and wire animals. He
refused to simply beg but tried to earn his way. From then on, he would appear
at the gate every so often and we would see him walking along the road and he
would hail us with, “Another day, another life.”
We would see him working as a car guard at HIFA and he would be selling his
ware outside the Maarsdorp Market. A couple of times he had altercations with
the police and they raided his room in Mbare and beat him up. He wrote about
his experience and was beaten up again for his efforts.
The last time we saw Henry, he came with a gaping wound on his leg as he had
been hit by a car. We helped him get some medical treatment but sadly this was
the last time we saw Henry as he developed an infection and it killed him.
We will miss his visits and will always remember him by his life’s slogan.