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Free coffins for the deprived
2008-02-03 11:13:35
By Peter Mwangu
There are specific spots in the city of Dar es Salaam where coffins are sold. Any one in need of a coffin will be advised to visit places such as Manzese Argentina, Muhimbili, Mwananyamala and those within the vicinities of hospitals that have mortuaries.
Coffin business thrives also in other metropolitan places in the country. But they are for sale.
Joseph John Nmhalla a retired soldier is in the coffin business. The only difference with other coffin businessmen is that the 46-year old ex-soldier has a soft touch for his clients.
If they are financially poor, he stops thinking about selling. He simply extends an arm of sympathy by giving them a coffin free of charge.
``You only have to look into the eyes of the customer. If he is in the money, you will know it, and if he is desperate financially, it is all there in his face,`` says the coffin maker who has suffered numerous evictions from his landlord.
The once hardened Nmhalla, courtesy of his army background, has turned so soft in life that he begins his story that has changed his heart by saying: ``Some customers simply knock you out of your tough character. They represent misery and agony, and if you do not act quickly, you are part of their misery.``
He adds: \"In order to help them you just give them a coffin, and pray that there comes another customer with money. You know, some customers compensate the price of coffins I have given for free.``
After quitting the army Nmhalla thought of various means to earn a living. He embarked upon one after another. He started a city commuter operation with one vehicle.
The going was tough, and although he knew it was the tough who got going, he gave up, sold the mini-bus and looked for employment in the abounding security companies in the city.
He got none. Reason? He could be a spy as he had served in the army for a long period covering a spell of 24 years. Sensing that his retirement money was running out and that he could end up as a beggar in the streets, he hatched an alternative plan! To opt for a business that scared many, but a lucrative one as many people will buy the product.
``Despite resistance from my own wife, I went ahead and opened a coffin workshop at Mwananyamala. There was little competition then,`` he says without being specific when he actually started that business.
``My wife was shocked when I told her that I had finally settled on a coffin business. It took me quite a long time to convince her to agree with me that coffins were the only possible products that could keep us in the city, and after putting all the cards on the table she succumbed, kissed me and blessed the business,`` he recalls.
Nmhalla remembers quite well how many landlords threw him out when they saw the kind of business he was operating. He is not certain whether this happened only to him or if it also happened to fellow makers of coffins.
``Some of the landlords picked on a wicked plan of raising rents within a short notice,`` the coffin maker says, adding that in the course of his business he also lost a few friends who thought he was doing an ungodly business.
``This is just a service like others. It is like beauty salons, pharmacy, food vending and general merchandise shops to mention only a few. But some people regard it as evil although they will need it when time comes,`` he notes.
One coffin takes about three days to finish, and a fine one costs 250,000/- specially designed for the wealthier segment of customers while a normal one is sold at about 50,000/- for the middle class customers.
The price can even be slightly lower depending on the financial status of the relatives of the deceased.
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