Some of you may work because you have been called - perhaps you are a priest or a schoolteacher - and your reward in addition to your salary is the gratitude of your flock or your pupils.

Now think of jobs that are poorly paid and that no one really values. Dare I start a list? No, but I'll give you one which I'm sure hardly any of you would like to do: een toiletjuffrouw - a toilet lady.

You will only have had to heed the call of nature a couple of times when you have been out and about in Belgium to have come across these women sitting at the entrance to public toilets beside a table just big enough to hold a saucer in which you will, if you are wise, place your 50 cents for a visit. In return, you can be assured that the toilets are clean and that there is paper on the roll.

But it's not what you might consider a fulfilling job. Recently, Tania Koniakin died. For 10 years she had been the toiletjuffrouw or wc-madam in the Zuid shopping mall in Ghent. Her regular customers were so saddened by her death, they felt that they needed a way to express their grief. Now on her table, a candle burns beside a book of condolences but de stoel in de hoek is leeg - the chair in the corner is empty.

Since news spread of Tania's death, there has been a constant stream of people stopping at the entrance to the toilets. Hundreds have written their appreciation for Tania in the book and left money in her saucer to buy flowers for the family.

Tania was also popular with the shopkeepers around her. The florist would give her posies to brighten up the toilets; others brought air freshener and toilet paper. The manager of the nearby sandwich bar misses Tania enormously; in fact she hardly ever goes to the toilet now.

For the manager of the shopping centre, Tania werkte met hart en ziel - worked with heart and soul; she didn't have a job, but rather a vocation - een roeping ("calling"). The toilets are still open and are as clean as when Tania was alive, such is the respect shown to this woman. There are no plans to replace her for the moment; that would be ongepast - inappropriate.