As the sun began its ascent, painting the sky with hues of light blue, the village kids breathed a collective sigh of relief, marking the end of another morning's toil.
They had been sweeping the floors and cleaning up after the farm animals. Some had even been busy cleaning up the public latrine, which was a smelly place that nobody wanted to go back to.
It was a daily occurrence here. While the adults were out and about, fetching water, and patrolling the village for beasts and dangers, the children who were old enough would do all the chores.
Every hand counted.
After their work, the children walked along barefoot to a place of congregation where an adult was waiting for them.
"You kids are lucky. Today, we have something good for you… ta-dah! Look, it's ground yams!"
Seeing the roasted yams in the clay pot, all the kids seemed to get excited as they rejoiced amongst themselves.
