Bakhithi, ziyakhala manje! Awukho umsebenzi! According to the latest StatsSA report, our economy is stubbornly shedding jobs. Kunakele!
Covid-19 issues and lockdown are still with us, and politically, there is too much noise and disunity among people. One wonders what the impact of all these concerns is to the mental health of the population. This is no time for finger pointing but helping to find a solution and lending a hand. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 August 2021.
Sometimes one would wish to be a teenager again, not having to worry about many things about life, but just blissfully spending time with friends playing games, and occasionally trying to appease the parents to secure a favour or two, and one’s next pass. If that were to happen, such provision would come at the expense of one’s freedom. Many children wish they were older because they think life would be easier when older. Perhaps their fantasy is out of their dread for being “ruled” or “controlled” by their guardians.
But when your economic options are limited, the freedom to choose often follows suit. Some of us may have experienced poverty during our early development stages, but no one can ever admit familiarity with impoverishment. Poverty and general lack are undesirable because they often bring great discomfort and wreak havoc in one’s psychological make up. I empathise more with those having family responsibilities and lost their jobs, and now facing impoverishment unless they find a solution soon.
I observed that there is no shortage of advice for achieving success. Some advice is from people speaking from a theoretical perspective, having not experienced the things they have written about. Some have had practical experience in what they are talking about, but their advice assumes uniformity of circumstances, and others focus on people having something already requiring some improvement.
Though every person has something to work with, rarely did I find advice focusing on those with lost hope, or “having nothing” to get started with. By the latter, I refer to people in need of a hand, not necessarily money, to be lifted from their fall so they can stand firmly and steadily to walk again.
Money issues aside, some unemployed are unable to get started, not because they lack something, but could not showcase or nurture their abilities. Truth be told, the mindset of our society is not oriented towards creating a “buddy” system of deliberately creating capacity for anyone wanting a lift in life, to temporarily use to get started and be on their feet again.
The buddy system I am talking about, should be more like having a crosswalk where drivers seeing people on it, would stop to let them cross safely. Putting it differently, it should be like the Biblical Mosaic rules days where harvesters were encouraged not to reap to the very edges of their fields or gather gleanings of their harvest, but to leave some for the poor and foreigners to have some provision while regaining strength to their self-sufficiency.
I know that we pay taxes so government can help the poor, but I am referring more to acts and general mindset by people to offer a lending hand “natively” and readily to others. When that becomes our culture, surely there should be no reason we should not prosper.
Just to be cynical, how many among us believe it is not the government’s job to create jobs and be an employer of most people, but leave that to the private sector? How many having contrary views and believing there can never be national development in a country with high poverty and unemployment rates, unless government and not the private sector, directly undertakes development projects and employs people to achieve that?
Strangely, when businesses fall, many staunch proponents of the private sector leading development often call on the loathed government to intervene in saving those companies and jobs, yet their “free market” theories are suddenly forgotten in that time. A debate for another day.
The point though is that, can government alone best provide the support required by those in need of a chance and a hand to get started?
People across the political ideological divide should now unite on one thing, that we need each other. We may not agree on many things, but can agree that it is inhumane to leave another stuck in a pit when we can extend our hand to them or call others for help on their behalf.
Kunakele bakhithi!
But I am encouraged to see that there are many avenues for professional services. Unemployed graduates can try their luck in some of those. Though one can “wing it” if they can speak the business language properly, there are many freely available resources, mostly accessible online, for those seeking better opportunities to start afresh from a low base can exploit.
These include:
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- Free courses on coding, and hopefully use the knowledge to target small businesses to cost-effectively build them web or mobile applications or sites for a reasonable fee.
- With freely accessible public Wi-Fi, accessing Youtube videos on many DIY activities and learning to do repairs of popular items such as cracked smartphone screens.
- Choosing a topic of interest or passion and starting a Youtube channel or social media account offering content creatively. Hopefully as more followers appreciate that content, one can monetise it, or if preferred, secure a better paying job.
Those with bigger responsibilities and in need of a break but unable to start from a low base should consider offering something they are experienced in. Humility, while remaining stern, is important always. Professional services such as conducting reviews, creating, or beautifying presentations can be lucrative.
If you are creative, continue your creativity, leverage your relationships, and seek avenues to partner with others or directly sell your creation to consumers. Do not rush to seek funding that often requires more collateral than the quantum of the debt taken.
Desperation can lead to undesirable decisions and outcomes. Be careful that yours does not lead to your destruction.