FROM COOL HEAT TO SCORCHING HEAT

Adeladius Makwega

 

Office of the President, Records and Archives Management Department – Dodoma.

 

November 2, 2026

It was a rather unusual day for Mwanakwetu. As was his usual habit, he arrived at work very early. However, that morning, his eyes caught sight of something out of the ordinary: a white vehicle carrying approximately six government officials.

 

Just by looking at them, Mwanakwetu could tell that they were not ordinary staff members of the institution. They were visitors. Unfortunately, they were too far away for him to exchange even a simple morning greeting.

 

Mwanakwetu proceeded to his office, ready to face the day's responsibilities, which began with several meetings. As is sometimes the case in our offices, meetings can become so numerous that after attending one, you almost need another meeting just to discuss what was discussed in the previous one!

Around midday, Mwanakwetu encountered two of the people he had seen earlier that morning. This time, they exchanged greetings before going their separate ways.

But the story did not end there.

At approximately 1:53 p.m., Mwanakwetu came across the same two officials again. This time, they were standing near the desk of Ms. Bujo Ngwale, a Records Officer.

Standing before him was a tall gentleman and a tall lady. Both were smartly dressed and looked so coordinated that Mwanakwetu began wondering whether they had been deliberately paired together, even their outfits appearing remarkably similar!

 

They looked like workplace twins. Wherever one was, the other was never far away. Indeed, wherever you spotted one, the other was likely to be nearby.

It was then that one of the visitors asked:

“Excuse me, who is Mwanakwetu?”

Ms. Ngwale calmly replied:

“Here he is, right here in front of you.”

 

Without waiting for the conversation to go any further, Mwanakwetu turned to the gentleman and asked for his name.

 

The gentleman introduced himself as Aniset Mark Kauky, an Assistant Records Officer at the Office of the President, Records and Archives Management Department, Southern Highlands Zone, based in Mbeya.

 

Mwanakwetu then proceeded to put several questions to him.

He explained:

“I have been here since this morning. We travelled from Mbeya together with several colleagues to carry out our official duties.”

Standing beside him was the tall lady, who introduced herself as Juliana Maleko, a Legal Secretary from the Office of the Solicitor General in Mbeya.

 

Mwanakwetu suddenly had something interesting to ponder.

Mwanakwetu said to himself:

“Has the Office of the Solicitor General become Kurwa, while the Office of the President, Records and Archives Management Department has become Doto? Ever since this morning, I have kept seeing these two together. One is in front, the other follows behind; when one stops, the other is nearby. Whenever you see Ms. Maleko, Mr. Kauky is almost certainly right there!”

Mwanakwetu could not help but admire their professional companionship and the way they appeared to work so closely together.

 

Indeed, it was a wonderful picture of public servants who could travel together, perform their duties together, and maintain good working relationships.

Mwanakwetu then asked them about their journey from Mbeya to Dodoma.

Mr. Kauky explained:

“Our journey involved several public servants. We travelled safely together for approximately twelve hours from Mbeya to Dodoma. Some of our colleagues came from the Office of the Regional Administrative Secretary of Mbeya, the Mbeya Regional Police Commander, and one officer . Overall, it was a very good journey.”

Mwanakwetu was pleased to hear that the journey had been safe. However, being a writer naturally curious about what goes on behind the scenes, he was not ready to end the conversation there.

He asked:

“Tell me, does the weather in Mbeya currently match the weather in Dodoma?”

They replied:

“Not at all. Dodoma is extremely hot, whereas Mbeya has a mixture of weather conditions. Sometimes it is hot, and sometimes it is cold.”

Mwanakwetu smiled to himself.

Aha! So this was not merely a journey from Mbeya to Dodoma. It was a journey from a place of changing temperatures to a place of scorching heat!

 

But he still had one more important question.

After travelling for approximately twelve hours, what exactly had these officials been discussing along the way? Were they discussing national development, administrative matters, government records, or perhaps planning how to survive Dodoma's scorching temperatures?

Mwanakwetu asked them what had occupied their conversations during the long journey.

 

The officials explained that their discussions had covered various social issues, particularly marriage and the challenges facing married couples in modern society.

One of them explained:

“You know, marriage nowadays comes with many challenges. Our parents lived in a different environment. In those days, it was quite normal for a man to marry a woman who was not employed, while he took full responsibility for providing for the entire family. The mother spent much of her time raising the children and managing the household, while the father concentrated on earning money to support the family.

 

“But things have changed today. Sometimes the father is employed, the mother is also employed, and both return home exhausted after a long working day. Then the questions begin: Who will look after the children? Who will cook? Who will take responsibility for raising the children? And, perhaps most importantly, who gets to rest first?”

That is where the challenges of modern marriage begin to emerge.

The officials observed that some families struggle to find sufficient time to raise their children, while young people's expectations of marriage and family life have also changed.

They also touched on the tendency among some young people to prefer an easier lifestyle without fully appreciating the responsibilities that come with building and maintaining a family.

Mwanakwetu reflected on their observations.

Indeed, in the past, a husband could return home from work and find that dinner was already prepared. Today, however, a husband may return home only to discover that his wife has also just returned from work, the children need help with their homework, the dishes are waiting to be washed, and the kitchen is full of questions rather than answers!

This is precisely why modern marriage requires more than love. It requires cooperation, communication, patience, and the sharing of responsibilities.

In other words, love alone cannot wash the dishes, do the laundry, help children with their homework, and pay the electricity bills!

All these responsibilities require the active cooperation of both partners.

Following their conversation, Mwanakwetu bid farewell to Mr. Kauky and Ms. Maleko as each continued with their respective official duties.

Mwanakwetu, meanwhile, walked away with something worth reflecting upon, eventually inspiring him to write this article.

 

Dear reader of Mwanakwetu, let us reflect on this journey.

This was a journey undertaken by government officials travelling from Mbeya to Dodoma, a journey lasting approximately twelve hours. It brought them together in the performance of their official duties and provided an opportunity to discuss important social issues.

However, what particularly captured Mwanakwetu's attention was the difference in weather conditions between these two cities and how that difference could serve as a metaphor for changing experiences in married life.

Mbeya, with its mixture of warm and cold weather, can be compared to marriages of the past, when families generally operated under a different arrangement of household responsibilities.

Dodoma, with its scorching heat, can be compared to modern marriages, which face numerous challenges requiring greater cooperation between husbands and wives.

However, let us not misunderstand the message. Mwanakwetu is not suggesting that marriages in the past were free of problems, nor that modern marriages cannot be happy and successful.

 

His point is that every generation has its own circumstances, challenges, and ways of dealing with them.

In the past, many families followed familiar and well-established divisions of responsibilities. Today, circumstances have changed. Couples must therefore learn to live cooperatively rather than simply relying on traditional arrangements without considering the realities of modern life.

So, just as Mbeya experiences both warmth and cold, while Dodoma experiences intense heat, marriage too has periods of calm and periods of difficulty.

The important thing is not to run away from the heat, but to learn how to cope with it!

And if the journey from Mbeya to Dodoma can take twelve hours, then the journey of marriage also requires patience, understanding, and cooperation.

You cannot drive a marriage like a racing car and expect everything to run smoothly!

Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:

Email: makwadeladius@gmail.com

Telephone: 0717649257