Abdulhussein Jaffer Mohamed Rahim

Children

One of my favourite memories of my mother, and this one is shared by many of her grandchildren, nieces and nephews, is listening to her stories. She had us listening spellbound to stories about 'rajas' and 'ranis' and the Arabian Nights. Even as adults, she would still receive requests from her children and grandchildren for her 'vartas'. One of the best things about her stories is that they all ended on a happy note - 'khadho, pidho, ane raaj kidho'!
Although a short man physically, my father was tall in principles and character and was well respected in the community. He was the one who was always consulted when advice was required. I recall a story from my mother describing how my father carried an injured boy to the hospital and made sure he was taken care of.
A generous man, he willingly and happily opened his home to several family members. What I remember very clearly about my childhood is living in a home filled with people - not only my parents and sisters but also several cousins who came to live with us for a variety of reasons. When I was getting married, my father wanted all the family members to be present. He arranged with the help of his nephew, Abdulrasul Jaffer, to rent an entire carriage of a train to transport the family to Dodoma for the wedding, where my fiancée's father was good enough to provide accommodation for the army of family members attending!
My father had a circle of friends and one of his best friends was Mr. Ali Esmail Jetha, who was a very tall man. As a result, they were very noticeable when they went about the town together! He and his friends would go to the countryside for picnics every weekend. One of the kids would be allowed to accompany him and you can imagine the fighting amongst the kids to be the one to be chosen.
During the annual school vacation, my father would arrange for the family to spend the holidays at a seaside village called Chwaka. He would rent the house belonging to the community and we would spend two or three weeks there. We had a wonderful time going out early in the morning looking for 'khungu' and splashing about in the water. During our stay in Chwaka, we would have all kinds of visitors, some arriving in the middle of the night - resulting in midnight tea parties! When it was time to go back, my father would arrange for a lorry to pick us all up.
While giving so much to their families, my parents also gave to the community. My father was the Chairman of the Building Society and had the honour of accompanying Hazar Imam for the foundation laying ceremony. My mother was a member of the Ladies' Committee, which looked after poor families in our community. She visited with these families almost daily and helped in whatever way she could.
There are so many happy childhood memories. We never realized how hard my parents worked to give us these carefree memories. We are fortunate that we had the benefit of their wisdom and their love for so many years.
Jafferali A. Jaffer

THE DECENDANTS OF JAFFER MOHAMED RAHIM BY Salim Jaffer (Vancouver 1999)

Abdulhussein Jaffer Mohamed Rahim, Zanzibar.
Fatmakhanu,Abdulhussein & Mali 1929.