Reflections on the need to support one another in these challenging times
It’s December and we know this indicates that the holiday season is here. A time to look back at the outgoing year, reflect on our lives, hopefully celebrate irrespective, and look forward to the year ahead. It signals that a new year is just around the corner, one that we pray is filled with much better things than we have experienced. There are a lot of celebrations and people often try to be joyous despite it all. Sometimes though, it is tough to celebrate when one’s reality does not align with the need to celebrate.
I can imagine that many people felt hopeful this time last year. This new year will favour me and my family or something like that was probably a top prayer point. Things had been tough but we stayed hopeful. A new year can only bring new and probably better things, right? When the new year did arrive, we had our hopes up as we waited eagerly for things to get better. Alas, we are in December again and it doesn’t seem like the hopes of many people have been met.
People are suffering and I am not just talking about the people we see on the roadside and street corners begging for alms. Those have always and will probably always be with us. I am talking about the regular person. Those who have experienced a loss in income and an unfavourable change in their lifestyle. The average man and woman we live with and work with. The people we would ordinarily have not expected to ask for anything because they have jobs but are now compelled to make financial requests often. Have you experienced this? Have you been the one who has had to make requests?
At the bus stop, someone asks if you can please pay their fare or help with some money. At the supermarket checkout, someone begs you to please pay for an item that they desperately need but can no longer afford. You are having a meal at a fast-food restaurant and someone is staring at you through the window, looking longingly at your meal. Someone is standing by the ATM, waiting for you to make a withdrawal so they can ask you for some money. The requests for urgent 2k have skyrocketed. Ordinarily, in the not-so-distant past, many could afford the basics and essentials of life: food, clothing, transportation, and education for their children. However, with the way prices of everything imaginable have skyrocketed this year, they are left with nothing but a prayer. Things are that tough.
These are just some of the things we see but what about the ones we may not see? The family that has to change their children’s schools or even withdraw them from school because they can no longer afford to pay the fees. The parents who are going without balanced meals just so their children can have food to eat. The man or woman in the hospital who cannot be discharged because they have unsettled bills. The people whose salary is gone a week after payday and not because they squandered it but because responsibilities have swallowed every kobo. Any wonder why many people have become enslaved to loan apps or have even taken up betting or some other unpalatable vices? Things have become so tough that they probably can’t think clearly enough about how to address their issues.
I am tempted to say things have always been like this or that we have experienced this before. I know there are a few people who champion this line of thought but I have begun to wonder, have we been down this road before? Things have become very tough for people who are already managing their meagre earnings. One wonders whether we have a breaking point as a people or whether we are so resilient that we just keep bouncing back in any way, shape, or form.
Not everyone has been badly hit in these trying times though. Some have been able to rearrange their lives to adapt to these times. Some others have discovered new sources of income and can weather the tide. And there are definitely some other people who because of the opportunities that have opened up for them, even amid economic challenges, are rejoicing. Such is life. Every disappointment can be a blessing depending on how it is viewed and what actions are taken at the time.
By now, no one needs to tell anyone to get creative. That is the name of the game and rightly so, after all, when one is pushed to the wall, one can either dig through or be crushed. Thoughts on creative means of managing existing resources whilst seeking new means of earning income will see anyone through. This is also the time for people to open up to others for help, not just in seeking fish but also in seeking how to fish. Support can last for a time but knowledge will last much longer, and it is that knowledge that we should focus on.
Not everyone will be able to celebrate this year. Even when the means are available, some may think they have no reason to celebrate but this should not be the case. We say “while there is life, there is hope” and it still rings true today. We should help as many as we can to find a reason to celebrate irrespective of whatever they have gone through. And let us not limit this to December but let us make it an attitude that we embrace consistently all year round.
If you have extra, please share. If you don’t have extra but can share what you have, please share. Let us truly be our brother’s keeper. Let us make this the most wonderful time of the year. Not because we have in excess but because we can show that despite all, we have love and we can express it to one another in different ways. This is the way I see things today.