Kasongo and the Broken Shoe

One year ago I bought some shoes for my impending departure to Zambia.  I bought Merrell sandals that looked like shoes.  They had the Vibram soles and everything.  I thought they would last a long time. 

Maybe it's the miles I've walked, poor construction, a year of use, or the African terrain, but they weren't going to make it much longer. 

That was until Kasongo Fubisha, my neighbor, saw them in need of repair and told me that he could fix them.  I gave him the shoe, not expecting much, and he proceeded to start putting them back together.  I gave him the shoe not expecting much, but when he returned it less than thirty minutes later it was good as new.  All he used was about 25 minutes, some pieces of string, a piece of metal to push the string, and another with a hooked end to pull it out the other side. 

I am not joking when I say that the craftsmanship was good too.  Two and a half weeks later and the mends are still strong, still binding my sole to the shoe, and I don't have to get new shoes now.  

The two things I learned from this were that no shoes can last in Africa, and a villager with minimal supplies and / or tools can right all the wrongs of a broken shoe in under thirty minutes.