Birthdays for me
have always been a period of sober reflection and retreat where I carry out
self evaluation, take up new resolutions, drop recurring bad habits and look
forward to the future under the guidance, protection and direction of God. As
the date approach in 2015, I was chocked up with chain of activities involving
traveling to rural communities in Kano, Zaria and Kaduna that I lost track of
the date. Going to bed late and waking up early; forgetting to eat; spending
less than five minutes in the bathroom and always on the move were activities
that crowded my schedule in the last one week. There was so much to do in a
very little time and the day (9th October) came as to me as another
normal day filled with activities.
On returning home
after a hectic, energy sapping and long week, I had time to go through my call records on Saturday morning
(10th October), I realized that I responded to some calls between 2
am to 3:330 am on Friday 9th October which unfortunately I do not
have a full account of (I was most probably deep asleep). Looking over the day
and what went on, I consider 9th October 2015 which was a half day
(a Friday) as the busiest day of my life in the last four years crowded with activities. But on this
same day, an experience I had gave me the best birthday gift in my existence on
earth over the past two decades plus years.
On 9th
October 2015 while on the field and getting to one of the rural communities in
Kaduna, I was informed that the safest way of getting into the community was
with a canoe through the river. To meet up with my expected deliverables as
outline by my scope of work and to take up a new adventure (since I have never
entered a canoe before) I entered the canoe with some of my colleagues.
In my mind was the struggle between fear and
courage each trying to get the better of the other but an enveloping spirit of
zeal and determination for success covered them all and kept me sited on the
canoe with my hands firmly holding on to the edge of the canoe and a faceless
smile aimed at hiding my fear. My eyes
were fixes on the bank of the river with some much anxiety as that of a hungry little
boy on a long queue waiting to be served lunch that was likely to finish before
his turn.
Finally we got
to our destination and we were welcomed into the community with open arms and
treated with outmost courtesy. The resident of the community were predominately
farmers and cattle rearers, they were all looking happy as they go about with their
activities exchanging pleasantries with all and sundry. The community had no
hospital or even a clinic; no pipe born water and there were a few shops that
had basic things for sale; there was a dilapidated building structure of six
classes the community use as their primary school which I found under lock and
key and which appeared to me as unused in over the last four years. The community had no secondary school at all
which made it a culture that girls in the community are either sent hawking food
items or into marriage soon after their primary education (if the make it that
long). Interestingly, the community had power supply and network reception
(even thou both were epileptic in supply)
While in the
canoe on our way into the community, we were joined by three adolescent girls
who were returning from school, the eldest of them was between the age of 14 to
16 years of age and in SS2 while the other two were between 8 and 11 years of
age. I urged a female colleague of mine to engage them in a discussion
primarily to find out how they were fairing in school and secondly to distract
the fear that was growing stronger in my mind as we were in the middle of the
river and everyone was just sitting quietly.
The eldest girl
told us she wants to be a lawyer when she grows up, she narrated how she has to
cross the river every school day for the past five years just to get to school.
According to her, a lot of her friends and age mate were married and some had (a)
child(ren) already which is a prestigious thing in their community but she
wanted to finish school and go to the university and become somebody in the
future even thou there is a suitor willing to marry her and her parents will be
happy to see her married off as that will save them the money they use in
paying her school fees.
As the girl
narrated her story, I could see determination in her, I could see courage in
her voice, I could see strong will in her dreams, I could see her struggling
against the waves of the river, I could picture how the future of that
community will be if this girl becomes a lawyer. This stirred a thought in me
and I reflected on how life has been less stressful for some of us, we had the
luxury of been transported to school every school day and the leverage to
choose what we wanted to be in the future or which university to go to. This young
girl may not have half the privileges that some of us had while her age but she
has a strong will and determination and that am sure will make her succeed.
Unknowingly to
the young girl, she gave me my best birthday present I have ever received which
included the ability to empathize with the struggles of others, the courage to
strive harder despite the unfavorable circumstances, the grace to appreciate
all that we have despite its shortage in quality or quantity, the value and transforming
power of education and the ability to overcome my fear of water (hydrophobia).
What started to
me as a long hectic day ended up as a very inspiring day, I wish all my
birthdays will be like that.
Bijimi Daniel
Meindous
