By Sheku Putka Kamara

Surely, she should be over fifty (assuming I do not wish to attempt to suggest that she’s in her 60s if not 70s. Clearly, we need not argue that she was an old woman, but that is not all. She was carrying a tray of assorted items. I could bet that everything being sold would not amount to Le 200, but she just has to fend for herself. I took some raw groundnut; valued at Le 4 and I gave her Le 10. She wanted to give my Le 6 change, but like I’d almost always do in appreciating hard work and unmatched commitment, I dashed her the change. I left the scene as she kept on praying for me, for ‘doing her good.’

Days after, I met this other supposedly young fellow who had come all the way from my very district, Port Loko. He is a mechanic who had done some good job as demanded by his boss. After execution, he had to use the last ferry from the Kissy terminal to head back to Port Loko. He told me that he finds pleasure in what he does, but that he had to stop going to school because his parents were now late. Clearly, he now makes some cash, but he does not seem to want to continue studies.  As expected, I encouraged him to go back to school and blend some theories in his already established practice. Hopeful that he’d take our convo into consideration.

I have titled this piece ‘Navigating Societal Imbalances.’ It is an outright attempt to shine a light on some daily societal happenings and how best all of us may aid in changing such narratives for the better. From what I have shared above, it is clear that like that old woman who still presses to make a living, that young boy who now has some source of income needs some coaching and schooling too. He is not alone. Hundreds if not thousands of others exist out there largely because they have no one to look up to. They have nobody who’d suggest better trajectories that are to be adopted.

Many a time, we may be constrained as a people and a society as to what strategies that are to be adopted to sort some of such irregularities and this is not unconnected to the reality and fact that ‘everyone has issues.’ So, what do we do to curb some of such excesses? First, I here propose the need for strategic communication at all levels. It is highly likely that we may not be able to address certain issues because we may be constrained to better comprehend the real cause of the problems and like we’d note in approaches to problem-solving techniques, you cannot solve what you do not understand.

Today, it is very possible that a lot of negativities exist, but that does not warrant or maybe it should allow us to accept and do nothing about such vices. The globe is big enough for everyone to progress, but maybe we all need some form of coaching and mentorship.

Let us therefore continue to embrace such circumstances and make do with what we have, whiles ensuring that we aid in making Sierra Leone a better place with our little efforts. Let’s catch up in some other edition.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)