The recently released report by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on “Poverty Trends in South Africa” in the period between 2006 and 2015[1], shows that life got more difficult for many South Africans. The hardship in question is experienced at the core or foundation of life where one does not know where one’s next meal would come from. If ever one was unsure about what disaster looked like, this is it, more so considering wastages we see in many aspects of our lives.

 We live in a part of the world full of valuable natural resources. It is shameful that many are highly impoverished in a country such as ours with vast resources and technological and developmental advancements. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 August 2017.

The conditions of our lives are caused by many factors. Some, external to us, could be “imposed” and are beyond our control. Others could be owing to choices and actions we have taken. Notwithstanding, I became curious and wondered about the extent of preparedness of professionals and businesses to withstanding major hardships and setbacks. A cursory look around led me to conclude that many of us are not well-prepared, much less having some relief if we experience major setbacks.

 It’s easy to dismiss this by saying that if our income could improve, then we would manage to set resources aside for contingencies against disasters. Many of us are not in a hopeless situation described in the Stats SA report. Thus, we do not have any excuses for having no contingency measures in place.

 Indeed, we may not have “extra” resources available to reinvest in disaster mitigating measures. The creation of resources to implement contingency measures does not always depend on an increase in one’s earnings. Setting aside grace, we can create “extra” resources by increasing our ability to earn more without increasing consumption, or reducing consumption without losing current earnings. Many other variations of such tactics could be used to create extra resources.

 Earnings and consumption can be used as balancing levers to create the extra resources needed.

 Unless classified as among the impoverished as defined by the recent Stats SA report, we can all adjust aspects of our lives to reduce our consumption levels. The same cannot necessarily be said about increasing one’s earnings.

 Aside from the impoverished, we can reduce our “consumption” either way. The real question is whether or not we are willing to sacrifice the convenience of living a “higher” life to ensure we build savings that could be used to fund the required contingency measures.

 I am not saying contingencies must address all requirements to mitigate against any disaster. Even if it only addresses one of many needs, this would be better than not having any contingency as it seems with some people these days. Some people gamble with their lives by living without contingency measures. They regard probabilities of setbacks occurring to be much lower. But such opinions are mainly informed from looking at the past. Truth is, anything can happen at any moment. While chances of it occurring may be smaller, what would be one’s recourse if setbacks occur? Such scenarios are examples of setbacks we should consider and for which we need to build reserves.

 Now, there are people unperturbed by any of these concerns and have, instead, set others as their reserve against setbacks. They merrily go on with their lives without cutting back consumption, yet quick to call others for help when they experience difficulties.

 People known to you are not your fallback plan to resolve your disaster shortfalls. Do not be an irritation to them and risk ruining relationships because of poor decisions made in your life. Show good stewardship in your management of resources and life so you can inspire others. In that way, when experiencing shortfalls, people would be eager to reach out to you because they know about your goodness, faithfulness and resourcefulness.

 No person is an island. We are connected and interdependent. We cannot do without people. Ours is to make it easy for others to (want to) help us.

 One way of becoming self-sufficient is by reviewing the situation from the Biblical Adam’s perspective where he had no one to assist him.

 If the Biblical story is true, Adam then had no one other than his Creator, his partner Eve, the land and its creatures and plantation to depend on for his welfare. Yes, we may not be in the Garden of Eden, but we live in a better world full of technological developments and knowledge in which we could be more fruitful.

 Let us force ourselves to rely on our energies and resources by thinking “like Adam” so we could account for our responsibilities, yet still expect the support of others by looking at how we could exchange value for our benefit and interdependence. That way, any other “extra” help we will get, whether from charity, investments or loans, would be a surplus and a bonus for our greater advancement.

 Let us consider our lives, usage of resources and readiness to not only live our lives, but contribute in human development and withstanding setbacks.

 Death and taxes have been certainties of our lives for a long while. Not everyone would experience death or may need to pay tax. However, everyone is guaranteed to experience some hardship or setback in their lifetime.

 Let us therefore be prepared and live prepared to avoid hopelessness.

[1] Refer to “Poverty Trends in South Africa, An examination of absolute poverty between 2006 and 2015” Report (number 03-10-06) published by Stats SA