TAKE MY HAND
EPISODE 12
HAND IN HAND
SCENE I
B/G SFX:
FROGS AND CRICKETS CRACKING
CHARACTERS:
LC ABSALOM, REBECCA
MILDRED:
(NARRATION) They say a real man practices what he preaches. LC
Absalom is one such man. He is the local LC2 of Bukulu, married to
Rebecca. They have five children. Absalom always promoted modern
family planning in public but there came a time when he felt he needed to
practice what he preached.
SFX:
FADE OUT NARRATION AND INTO
LOCATION:
INT-LC ABSALOM AND REBECCA’S HOME-NIGHT
REBECCA:
So, have the locals endorsed you as their candidate, Absalom?
ABSALOM:
Oh yes, they have. But am running against Blazio… and trust me he is no
push over.
REBECCA:
Next to you, he is no contender, believe me!
ABSALOM:
He definitely is, Rebecca; he’s very popular in the community. I mean
with how he saved the squatters from the Katasi family evictions.
REBECCA:
Nonsense, you have always been fair and just. People still respect that.
ABSALOM:
Nevertheless, people are fed up, Rebecca. The game has changed and they
want a change…
REBECCA:
Well, you know I haven’t changed. I’ll never let you down…
ABSALOM:
I know. I could smell your cooking from the front door and I thought:
goodness, why don’t I just stay home? Why do I bother with public life
when I have my main course right here? (LAUGHS)
REBECCA:
I should hope so! I hope you are not thinking of side-dishes!
ABSALOM:
That isn’t what I was thinking. Far from it! I was thinking, I want this to
be a special night for us, dear.
REBECCA:
Chair, in the 20 years we have been married, there hasn’t been a night that
wasn’t special.
ABSALOM:
I know. And here we are again… what special shall we do tonight?
REBECCA:
I know you, chair, when you start to talk special, you want to talk big.
ABSALOM:
Fine, you know me like an open book. And I have to confess, as I was
coming home and looking forward to a special night, I had this thought:
what if…?
REBECCA:
What if what?
ABSALOM:
What if our special night produced another special something nine months
from now…to add to our five special surprises?
REBECCA:
My dear, our five children have hardly been a surprise.
ABSALOM:
I know. But tonight might be so special that…well, we might have another.
REBECCA:
Are you saying we should? Are you saying you don’t want to use
condoms?
ABSALOM:
I am saying we have a lot going on already… children at various stages in
their education and you looking after the orphans at the church…and we
have got used to that…so if we did have another that would be… an
accident.
REBECCA:
(LAUGHS) You are a funny man!
ABSALOM:
No…I think I am just reasonable. I like to look at all sides of everything,
you know. And I have to say, sometimes I wonder, when I look at our kids,
how are they really going to survive? (A STREAM OF MUSING) There
is competition for jobs. Every week, as LC, I have more and more cases of
family squabbles and I think to myself: these people are arguing because
they are just too poor. They can’t cope any more. Husbands hitting their
wives…Wives screaming at their husbands – and who is thinking about
the children? Children are the ones that get messed up when their parents
can’t even look after themselves any longer.
REBECCA:
(LAUGHS) I hope all this philosophical talk isn’t going to spoil our
‘special night.’
ABSALOM:
Of course not. I was just thinking; imagine if we didn’t have to use
condoms.
REBECCA:
I don’t have to imagine. I know what would happen….I would fall
pregnant.
ABSALOM:
No, imagine if we didn’t have to use condoms and you didn’t fall pregnant.
REBECCA:
What are you talking about?
ABSALOM:
Am just reflecting on our options, honey.
SCENE II
LOCATION: INT-DENIS AND NURSE MILDRED’S HOME-MORNING
B/G SFX:
BIRDS SINGING
CHARACTERS:
LC ABSALOM, DENIS, NURSE MILDRED
DENIS:
So that’s the reason for the excitement, Absalom.
ABSALOM:
(LAUGHS) What excitement? I was just hoping to get your support, Denis.
DENIS:
Well congratulations on your endorsement for LC. You have my full
support but I can’t speak for my wife.
ABSALOM:
I know. Women today have their own mind.
DENIS:
I am glad you understand. But one tip I can give you, do not underestimate
Blazio’s appeal among the grassroots; it’s going to be a hard-fought
contest.
MILDRED:
(APPROACHING MIC) Did I hear LC say he has been endorsed?
Congratulations, Absalom.
ABSALOM:
Thank you, Mildred. I do hope I have your support.
MILDRED:
The way you handled the dispute between my brother-in-law, Matia and
the squatters showed a lot of fairness. You will make a good LC2
chairman.
ABSALOM:
I intend to continue being fair. Thanks again for your confidence in me.
Listen, Nurse Mildred, the reason I am here also is to talk to you about
something.
DENIS:
This sounds confidential, should I give you some privacy?
ABSALOM:
No. Not at all! It’s partly about her work and my candidature. You can
stay and lend a voice.
MILDRED:
Intriguing! What is it?
ABSALOM:
(STUTTERS) The thing is ever since you spoke to the community about
modern family planning, a little voice has been speaking quietly to me in
the back of my head.
MILDRED:
And what does this voice say?
ABSALOM:
A lot of people… I mean leaders… talk about change but only few
actually walk the talk.
MILDRED:
I hear they call it politics.
ABSALOM:
That’s exactly the perception I would like to change. Politics should not be
a fast-track to riches whilst the poor remain poor. Politics should be about
commitment to making sure people get wealthy… The thing is, the people
in Bukulu struggle daily to take care of their large families. They need
leadership, not just telling them what to do, but showing them how to do it.
DENIS:
Well then, LC, if you are going to use the family planning example, what
you are saying is that a community leader who is using modern family
planning should tell everybody that he, or she, is using it.
ABSALOM:
(STAMMERS) Well, no… that is not quite what I said…
MILDRED:
What exactly do you want then?
ABSALOM:
Choosing family planning is a private decision.
DENIS:
But you said you want to set an example. I thought you said you want to
be a transparent leader? To show the way?
MILDRED:
Honey! Don’t put words in LC’s mouth.
ABSALOM:
(SIGHS) I guess Denis is right. I don’t just want to talk about family
planning. I want to do something about it. I am not sure if I would tell the
world. But maybe… that’s what I wanted advice on.
MILDRED:
Well, LC, the thing about Family Planning is that it is your choice. And
nobody has to speak out about it. It is a private matter. Having said that,
most women who come for family planning say they’ve come because
somebody else recommended it. So word of mouth is the most effective
way of getting people onto family planning. Mrs A says: I am using such
and such a family planning method. It works for me. And Miss B says:
Really? Maybe I’ll try it too!
ABSALOM:
That’s all very well. But how do you think the community would react if I
said that the LC candidate is considering a vasectomy?
SFX:
FADEOUT UNDER NARRATION
MILDRED:
(NARRATION) Absalom’s announcement stunned me. Vasectomy! It’s
rare for a public man, a leader, in fact any Ugandan man to think of such.
Many powerful men I can think of brag to the world that they have loads
of wives and children. But it seems such an outdated outmoded boast
when so many of Uganda’s problems stream from the fact that by having
so many children we create an uncertain future for them. That very
morning, out in the compound, I started to explain the benefits and
consequences of a vasectomy.
SCENE III
LOCATION: EXT-DENIS AND NURSE MILDRED’S COMPOUND-MORNNG
B/G SFX:
BIRDS SINGING
CHARACTERS:
NURSE MILDRED, LC ABSALOM, DENIS
MILDRED:
So, you know what vasectomy is, Absalom?
ABSALOM:
I know it is an operation that will prevent me from having children.
MILDRED:
Well…a vasectomy is a permanent method of family planning for men
who decide with their partners not to have any more children.
ABSALOM:
I also know sexual performance isn’t affected but I don’t understand the
procedure itself.
MILDRED:
That’s true; a man is still able to perform sexually. It’s a simple procedure
where the doctor ties and cuts the tubes that carry sperm to the penis.
ABSALOM:
So the sperms are tied in!?
MILDRED:
It doesn’t affect your ability to ejaculate. Semen is produced, but sperms
will not mix with the semen. And without the sperms, a man cannot make
a woman pregnant.
ABSALOM:
So I will be producing unproductive semen without the sperm. Wow, no
one had ever explained it to me like that before.
MILDRED:
Well, now you know, you just won’t be able to impregnate again.
ABSALOM:
My biggest worry was that I might not be able to…perform.
MILDRED:
Worry no more then.
ABSALOM:
(SHYLY) Freely speaking, Rebecca and I have had such a successful
marriage because the ‘bedroom’ is good – sorry for being blunt but am
sure you understand.
MILDRED:
(LAUGHS) Please, feel free. I wish more men would be as blunt. In any
case, vasectomy will probably increase sexual pleasure …because you
don’t have to worry...
ABSALOM:
What do you mean?
MILDRED:
Being blunt myself, the best sex is stress free sex.
ABSALOM:
(A BIT PRIM) Of course.
MILDRED:
If you remove the stress of her maybe getting pregnant, then the chances
are you will relax and the ‘bedroom’ is likely to be better than ever.
ABSALOM:
(LAUGHS) It’s fascinating that you are doing this work in Bukulu, Nurse.
MILDRED:
I am sure LCs also have a lot of counseling to do on very intimate matters!
ABSALOM:
(LAUGHS) I hear you.
MILDRED:
People are much too prudish about sex, and yet it’s the one thing they like
to talk about. So, it’s good that you are honest about your relationship with
your wife. And as you said, the more honest you are, the better it gets…
don’t you think, LC?
ABSALOM:
(LAUGHS) Yes. You are right. It is always refreshing hearing your view
of the world, Nurse Mildred!
MILDRED:
I am bored with my view. It’s much more refreshing to hear a man – a
community leader, what’s more! – deciding to get a vasectomy! I wish
every man was interested in family planning like you.
ABSALOM:
I am not afraid of it, that’s true. So what’s the next step, Nurse?
MILDRED:
I suggest you bring your wife to the clinic.
ABSALOM:
Rebecca! Why?
MILDRED:
You said yourself; family planning is a family thing. She needs to know.
ABSALOM:
Definitely but now?
MILDRED:
The sooner the better, before elections. The procedure won’t take long but
you may have to rest for a day or two.
DENIS:
(APPROACHING MIC) So have the two of you finished your business?
MILDRED:
(LAUGHS) Business indeed. It’s not fully concluded but you could say
LC has made a down payment.
ABSALOM:
Your good wife is very persuasive, Denis.
DENIS:
I know all about that. Now… can I interest you in another form of down
payment …
ABSALOM:
What’s that, Denis?
DENIS:
Delicious homebrew…
MILDRED:
Don’t you start with that now, Denis.
DENIS:
Come on honey, a little drink doesn’t hurt. Besides, we’ll be drinking it at
home, under your watchful eye, my dear.
SFX: TRANSITION MUSIC
SCENE IV
LOCATION: EXT-DENIS AND NURSE MILDRED’S COMPOUND-AFTERNOON
B/G SFX:
DISTANT CARS DRIVING BY
CHARACTERS:
LC ABSALOM, DENIS
DENIS:
Absalom, just know I support your decision to have a vasectomy 100%.
ABSALOM:
Thank you, Denis. Most men would think am mad.
DENIS:
Then you are mad for doing the right thing.
ABSALOM:
The more I think about it, the more I realize I am doing the right thing.
Although it might affect my campaign if it came out.
DENIS:
You really think if people knew you had a vasectomy, you would get
fewer votes?
ABSALOM:
Trust me, Denis, having loads of children is a form of pride for most men.
DENIS:
But ‘most men’ these days can hardly look after loads of children. They
struggle.
ABSALOM:
That doesn’t stop them from having loads of children.
DENIS:
Tell me about it. Men think having a large family means they are more of
a man! Even when they can’t really support them. And the women go
along with it, even encouraging it.
ABSALOM:
Yet the same people are the first to moan about poverty.
DENIS:
The thing is somebody has to take a stand. What about you?
ABSALOM:
ME? What about me!?
DENIS:
What’s your campaign strategy?
ABSALOM:
Honesty, transparency, old-fashioned hard work. Servant of the people!
DENIS:
Good! Then, use your decision to go for vasectomy as your strategy.
ABSALOM:
You mean go public? Wouldn’t that just mess up my campaign instead?
Blazio would love to use that against me. He would probably even come
up with some ridiculous slogan!
DENIS:
Like what?
ABSALOM:
Like “what reason would anyone have to keep a castrated bull.”
DENIS:
If that happens then…
ABSALOM:
Am finished.
DENIS:
Then, you have a chance to explain to people that vasectomy isn’t
castration; it’s simply not allowing the sperms to get into the semen.
ABSALOM:
Come on, Denis. Nobody will listen to that. Besides, I haven’t even
properly told Rebecca that am considering it. How on earth do I tell a
bunch of people I hardly know?
DENIS:
But you’d be telling the truth. People say a whole lot of rubbish about
modern family planning
ABSALOM:
Exactly! And then I won’t stand a chance of becoming LC!
DENIS:
There is always a first time. You could stand up for modern family
planning. You could tell people that it’s just plain wrong that some
husbands actually beat their wives because they’re on the pill!
ABSALOM:
You feel very strongly about this, Denis!
DENIS:
YES, of course. It’s time somebody stood up and spoke some truth instead
of all this rubbish you hear from most candidates. (TAKES ANOTHER
SWIG)
ABSALOM:
I suppose I could take a stronger stand on family planning; I just don’t
want my decision to get a vasectomy to scare people off.
DENIS:
Scare them, how?
ABSALOM:
With an opening statement that I’ve gone for a vasectomy! That would
just hand victory to Blazio.
DENIS:
I get it, if you start slow by supporting family planning and later down the
line you disclose that you are a man of your word.
ABSALOM:
Yes…
DENIS:
You don’t just give lip service but do as you say, that could be a very
powerful thing. People are looking for leadership, for the truth.
ABSALOM:
Exactly! Denis, you would be a great campaign manager, in fact the way
you talk, you could even run for office.
DENIS:
(LAUGHS) That’s not my area of interest. I want a quiet life managing
my micro finance, keeping my vegetable garden... Besides, politics is a
dirty game.
ABSALOM:
You yourself said, it doesn’t have to be dirty. Uh? Denis, be my campaign
manager.
DENIS:
Oh my goodness what have I talked myself into…?
ABSALOM:
Being conscious about how to live, how many children one can afford,
that is something that needs addressing in our community.
DENIS:
You sound serious! It’s not just the alcohol talking?
ABSALOM:
I am very serious. Join me.
DENIS:
Absalom, look, this is a battle you are going to have to fight alone.
ABSALOM:
Come on, you would be a good adviser. Women are the majority of voters;
they take part in community issues.
DENIS:
Women!?
ABSALOM:
Yes. Your wife will tell you that for most women want to space their
births, but aren’t doing anything about it. Why not have a campaign that
includes family planning? Why not have an LC who supports family
planning and promises to address their needs.
DENIS:
Look, Absalom, it sounds great here… with Grace’s very strong
homebrew… but really, seriously, I can’t be available full time. Besides,
listen to you, you already know what you want to tell the people of Bukulu.
ABSALOM:
I don’t need someone full time but I do need a campaign strategy. I would
benefit from your advice and support.
DENIS:
(SIGHS) Let me think about it, Absalom.
SCENE V
LOCATION: EXT-COMMUNITY CENTRE-MORNING
B/G SFX:
CROWD MARKET NOISES
CHARACTERS:
BLAZIO, LC ABSALOM, BUGEMBE
BLAZIO:
These things happen to you and me every day. This is why am here… I,
Blazio, am one of you. I am like you. I live with you and I share your
problems and I will solve your problems. So when you are voting,
remember who has supported you through thick and thin and vote for
Blazio, a man of the people.
CROWD:
CHANTS FIERCELY
BLAZIO:
It’s now up to you. It’s high time the ordinary workers like you and me got
representation. Thank you.
MUTAASA:
Now ladies and gentlemen, his opponent, the incumbent chairman, LC
Absalom.
CROWD:
CHANTS.
ABSALOM:
Thank you, thank you. I have been your Chairman LC2 for the last five
years. In that time, I have witnessed men beating up their wives, people
killing each other because of land and so many other problems. But the
real problem here is simple… we leave things to fate.
CROWD:
MEN BOOING
ABSALOM:
Well, my fellow men you are booing at me for nothing. Women, in all
these years, I have come to learn that you are the backbone of your
families, this community and the country.
CROWD:
WOMEN APPROVE, MEN BOO EVEN MORE.
ABSALOM:
Yes, it is true. Take for instance the young men; you hide behind the
excuse of no jobs to dodge responsibility.
CROWD:
BOO
ABSALOM:
No, let’s solve our own problems rather than hoping for others to fix them
for us.
BUGEMBE:
HOW?
ABSALOM:
Let’s take control and start a culture of responsibility. Taking
responsibility for our families means taking responsibility for our
community. Nurse Mildred has taken responsibility with her family
planning clinic and is doing wonders for the community.
CROWD:
MURMURS OF MIXED FEELINGS
BUGEMBE:
What is he talking about?
ABSALOM:
I am talking about the fact that you men should stop complaining about
lack of jobs and this and that!
CROWD:
MURMURS OF DISAGREEMENT
ABSALOM:
Listen, ask yourself whether you are part of the problem or part of
solution; and believe me you won’t like the answer.
CROWD:
CHANTS OF DISGUST MIXED WITH A FEW APPROVAL
MAN:
Let him speak. He’s making sense!
BUGEMBE:
This is absurd, did he come to blame us or give us solutions? (CROWD
CHANTS IN APPROVAL)
SFX:
FADE OUT UNDER NARRATION
(NARRATION) Things didn’t seem to be going well for Absalom. So
much for his campaign strategy! Even Denis groaned, thinking he must be
the world’s worst strategist. Absalom wondered whether the people of
Bukulu were ready for this. Were they ready to change? This is when
Absalom came with his wife to the health centre.
MILDRED:
SCENE VI
LOCATION: INT-NURSE MILDRED’S OFFICE-MORNING
B/G SFX:
DISTANT BABY CRIES
CHARACTERS:
NURSE MILDRED, LC ABSALOM, REBECCA
MILDRED:
I hear your campaign speech was lovely, Absalom.
ABSALOM:
You heard wrong. People were opposed to everything I said. It was a
disaster. I thought I would get the women’s vote, but I ended up saying all
the wrong things to men, who are only trying their best in a difficult world.
REBECCA:
That is the problem with having a husband in public life, Nurse Mildred.
ABSALOM:
My wife is right. People don’t want honest leaders. They want miracle
makers!
REBECCA:
Honey, its better you tell them the truth rather than stand there and feed
them with lies that they want to hear just so you can get voted.
MILDRED:
Well, the vote is not counted yet. So let’s see.
REBECCA:
Nurse Mildred, honestly… I don’t care if he wins or loses. At least I have
a husband who stands up and speaks with conviction…somebody who
believes in something and isn’t afraid to say it.
MILDRED:
I don’t dispute that, Rebecca, Actually, am rather surprised to see you
here, Absalom.
ABSALOM:
Why?
MILDRED:
As I understand it, you were afraid of losing votes if people saw you
coming for family planning.
REBECCA:
What’s done is done.
ABSALOM:
In the end, people must make up their own minds. For me, this is a private
matter; my wife and I are here for advice on modern family planning.
MILDRED:
(LAUGHS) I take it Chair has talked to you, Rebecca?
REBECCA:
He’s told me he wants to get a vasectomy but am really afraid. I don’t
want to do anything that would endanger his life and health.
MILDRED:
I understand. Some fear is natural. But what are your fears exactly?
REBECCA:
(STUTTERS) Well, a man may not be able to go to the office if you know
what I mean. Or it could even reduce his appetite and strength to… work.
MILDRED:
You don’t have to worry about that at all. The man still goes to the office.
REBECCA:
Really?
MILDRED:
He still has the strength and appetite to work, if you know what I mean.
All it does is keep sperm out of semen...And without sperm, a woman
cannot get pregnant.
REBECCA:
But, wouldn’t it be better if I just take injections instead?
ABSALOM:
Honey, I’ve thought about this, your birth and reproductive equipment has
done enough, it’s time I did something too. (THEY LAUGH)
MILDRED:
So are you both sure?
ABSALOM:
If the procedure is safe, why not? I want to do my part.
MILDRED:
It is, but it’s also a permanent method so you won’t be able to have
children after, ever.
ABSALOM:
I have enough children, why would I need more?
MILDRED:
Rebecca, what do you think? You don’t seem okay with this.
REBECCA:
It’s just that it’s so final.
ABSALOM:
I don’t get it, honey. We have many more years to take care of children.
REBECCA:
I know but…
ABSALOM:
We have five children, the youngest is six. So what? You want us to
squeeze in another 2 or 3… how many?
REBECCA:
Am just shocked I guess.
ABSALOM:
The truth is, in a few years I shall be a grandfather. Why would I compete
with my own children to have more children?
SFX:
FADE UNDER NARRATION
MILDRED:
(NARRATION) Absalom had made up his mind but Rebecca was not
quite convinced. Then one day, on the campaign trail, things changed
suddenly…
SCENE VII
LOCATION: EXT-COMMUNITY CENTRE-AFTERNOON
B/G SFX:
MARKED NOISES, CROWD NOISES
CHARACTERS:
LC ABSALOM, REBECCA
ABSALOM:
Please, ladies and gentlemen…
BUGEMBE:
Go away; you’re trying to corrupt us with your white man medicines.
CROWD:
BOOING AND SHOUTING HIM DOWN
ABSALOM:
Hear me out. Let’s work as one…
MAN:
To get rid of family planning.
CROWD:
CHANTING WILDLY ‘NO VOTES’
REBACCA:
Ladies and gentlemen, please listen to me. (CROWD GOES SILENT IN
SHOCK)
ABSALOM:
(STAGE WHISPER) What are you doing?
REBECCA:
(TO ABSALOM) Saving your campaign. (TO THE CROWD) I know
some of the things my husband said are not popular, but he is an honest
man. He wouldn’t stand here and make empty promises or lie. Many of
you are unhappy that he says our problems are ours to fix. But if you think
about it, they are.
BUGEMBE:
You and your husband are the same, no votes.
REBECCA:
Keep your votes but know the truth.
ABSALOM:
WHAT?
REBECCA:
(IGNORES HIM) Yesterday, my husband and I went to the family
planning clinic. (THE CROWD LAUGHS)
REBECCA:
It is good to see many of you laugh so loudly. How many of you women
are secretly on pills, injectables and implants?
SFX:
DEAD SILENCE
REBECCA:
And you men, like my husband said in his last campaign, how many of
you support your wives? So tell me what kind of matrimony is that where
a man and woman cannot talk to each other? Where you can’t decide to
plan for the future of your children? It is so sad!
CROWD:
It’s the men. No it’s the women.
REBECCA:
So it is the men! But how about us women? Why is it that when some
people are spreading rumours about family planning methods and how
they cause infertility, deformed babies or even make sex boring…why do
we play hypocrites? Why don’t we come out and say the truth? Many of
us are using family planning and having healthy babies and a great
bedroom business…
CROWD:
CHANT IN APPROVAL
REBECCA:
How many women using modern family planning get support from their
husbands?
CROWD:
SHOUTS ‘NONE’
WOMAN:
Not me. (Other women pick up the ‘not me’, ‘Not me’)
REBECCA:
Well, I get the support of my husband. That is why we go to the family
planning clinic together and it’s why I support him in his campaign.
WOMEN:
We support him too.
CROWD:
CHANTS ‘OUR MAN’. ONLY BUGEMBE DISSENTS
SCENE VIII
LOCATION: EXT-COMMUNITY CENTRE-EVENING
B/G SFX:
CROWD NOISES
CHARACTERS:
DENIS, ABSALOM, REBECCA
DENIS:
Unbelievable, you did it! Mrs. LC, you turned the campaign round.
ABSALOM:
It’s my Rebecca who should really run for office. (THEY LAUGH)
DENIS:
Let’s just hope these men and women don’t start demanding modern
family planning services right now.
REBECCA:
I don’t think that would be such a bad thing, Denis.
DENIS:
It wouldn’t but my wife would never rest. Speaking of which, why don’t
you two come home for supper?
ABSALOM:
Indeed why don’t we? We have to celebrate.
DENIS:
My wife is cooking meat, and I believe we still have to finish that
homebrew.
SFX:
FADE UNDER NARRATION
MILDRED:
(NARRATION) Absalom’s campaign became a fight for honesty and
responsibility in Bukulu. And a few weeks later, he came to the health
center accompanied by his wife, Rebecca.
SCENE IX
LOCATION: INT-HEALTH CENTRE-MORNING
B/G SFX:
DISTANT CRIES OF CHILDREN
CHARACTERS:
REBECCA, NURSE MILDRED, LC ABSALOM
MILDRED:
Congratulations, LC.
ABSALOM:
I should congratulate you and doctor, Nurse Mildred. The procedure was
so simple.
REBECCA:
I didn’t think he would be able to walk so soon after the vasectomy.
ABSALOM:
Am living proof that it’s painless.
MILDRED:
In case there is pain, I have some painkillers but it shouldn’t last long.
Take it easy for the next 2 or so days though.
REBECCA:
I’ll make sure of that.
MILDRED:
Oh, you should use condoms or an alternative family planning method for
the next 3 months.
REBECCA:
What? Why?
MILDRED:
Because it takes some months after the vasectomy to have all sperm
ejaculated, otherwise you can still get your partner pregnant.
ABSALOM:
And my duties as chairman LC2?
MILDRED:
Nobody said you can’t do your duty. And congratulations on becoming
LC2!
ABSALOM:
All thanks to Rebecca and Denis for his wizard campaign strategy and to
you of course.
MILDRED:
Nonsense, Absalom, am proud of you; you kept your word.
SFX:
MUSICAL BRIDGE FADE UNDER NARRATION
MILDRED:
(NARRATION) The vasectomy worked extremely well. Every time I see
Rebecca, she says it has done wonders for their sex life. It has made them
free! And Absalom is still carrying out his duties as LC2 successfully.
Since that famous campaign, I find that more and more men are starting to
take an interest in modern family planning and supporting their wives too.
Absalom and Rebecca did wonders for Bukulu.