DO OR DIE…. It is a shiny morning, the sky above is blue in colour and it generally looks like it is going to be a good day. Concrete has already been mixed and since it is the foundation slab that has to be laid, everyone is serious about what he is doing. To save time, the seven (7) casual laborers (ABAHEREZA) have decided to stand in one long queue and keep passing KALAYI (metallic basins) containing the mixed concrete like a conveyor chain. The four (4) builders locally known as ABAFUNDI are standing in the foundation trenches and ensuring that the mixture is poured to the required levels. The foreman aka MISITIRI is moving around the whole site while instructing (on top of his voice) the workers to increase their speed to ensure that by the time the day ends, the whole foundation will have been covered. At the extreme end of the site, a fat lady is busy mingling posho for the workers and the aroma of burnt posho that has taken over the whole environment. The owner of the site (yours truly) is standing on a raised ground and is so happy that June 2009 is his lucky month since his long awaited project has finally kicked off. Suddenly, the sun starts to disappear in the clouds and the once beautiful sky has started to darken. In fact, the heavens are getting angrier each and every minute meaning that it may shower in the next few minutes. It is tough situation here given that it is obvious that the mixed concrete will be washed away by the rain. Therefore, the casual laborers must double if not triple their effort. Since the boss is the one that will suffer loss, he sees no reason he should lose while watching. He also decides to fold his jean trouser, fold the shirt sleeves and also get dirty. It is a Do or die situation. The smile on the boss` face is no more given that he is thinking about how he will recover the loss he is about to land in. The anger in heaven is now unbearable and so the clouds have started releasing drizzles but in a white solid form. A hail storm is about to land on the site. My… my… my... It is now getting bloody! In the midst of all that, the foreman realizes that there are a number of intact bags of cement still at the KIKOROGYERO (mixing spot). He shouts at the casual laborers to first carry them to the make shift store located in the furthest corner. Each casual laborer has now left the queue and is now carrying a bag of cement on his head. In a spell, one of the casual laborers who appears to be the youngest falls down with the bag of cement on his head. Instead of feeling sorry, the laborer behind him shouts in Luganda, “SEBO, AKASAWO KEBITABO KAZITOWARIRA NOSARAMU OSITURE BUNO OBWA SIMENTI OBUWEWUKA. KATI SITUKA!” literally meaning that the his school bag became heavier and he opted to carry the bags of cement which are lighter so he should get up at once” What???? The boss starts to think loudly. “Why are you people heartless? Your friend has just fallen but instead of feeling sorry you are just abusing him?” He asks. One of the boys turns to him and replies, “MUGAGA BWOBA WAREMWA OKUSOMOMA, AMANYI GO GE GAKWEYIMIRIRA.” (Rich man, if anybody fails to study; his body energy is the one that will feed him). At this moment, the heavens have seriously opened up and there isn’t much one can save. Luckily all the intact bags of cement are safe and it`s only the concrete that will be lost. Every worker abandons the work and runs to the iron sheet made store for shelter. The Mugaga (rich man) joins them and you can imagine the noise that is inside there. While everyone else is conversing, Iam mute and only thinking about what the boys were saying while carrying the cement. The old English saying, “Hard work pays but pains” gets into my mind. “Nonetheless, is it true that hard work pays?” I ask myself. The answer straight away comes to my mind and it is none other than; “NEVER, NEVER, NEVER…. Hard work doesn’t pay. If that was the case, nobody would be richer than most of the casual laborers. Have you seen the guys that carry loads of goods on their heads in markets? Does anybody carry heavier goods than them? What of wheel barrow pushers? Do you have any idea about how they sweat? For goodness’s sake, they can`t even wave (Jambo) because their two arms are equally engaged. Who hustles more than farmers? They dig all day but at the end of the day they earn peanuts” So who earns more? Ultimately, it is the person that is smart and does things differently. Many people say that it is the lucky ones that earn more and it is true. These people Labour Under Correct Knowledge (LUCK). To me, that is being creative and striving to do things better than what the rest have done. At the end of it all sweating and making your hands dirty is necessary but it is not sufficient to make you successful. You must operate outside the box!
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 07:09:30 +0000
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