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| Photo credit: Abby Flat-coat |
There is only one saviour unto eternal life –Jesus Christ. Today I am talking about the other natural realm of human saviours/heroes. A saviour is a person that saves another from danger or destruction. Famous cartoon characters are Superman, Batman, Spiderman (i.e. Marvel series).
Last year, I visited my Aunty in Lagos. One Saturday, I followed her to the market –Mile 12. We met Moses. He carried our tubers of yam and packs of chicken as we shopped. In Yoruba, these men are called ALABARU. In Twi, we call them KAYAYEI. In English, they are HEAD PORTERS. They are the people who help us become who we are. The people whose filthiness, stress, sacrifices, pains, tears brought us this far.
Moses was aided by another gentleman, Wasiu. They virtually didn’t want me or my Aunt to carry anything than our purses. Everything we bought, small or large, light or heavy, he took it upon himself. Off to his head, off to his hand, off to the wheel barrow. If you have stayed in Nigeria or Ghana for a while (I don’t really know about other African countries), you will notice that this is a “Kayayei attitude”. To simply interpret, they are saviours. The spirit of a saviour was demonstrated in “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10)
This attitude is called ONCE AND FOR ALL. Because I went through it, my children must not. Because I suffered it, my mother must not. Let’s get more practical. Because I couldn’t go to school, my children must.
The Kayawei spirit tells me every time, because I went to school, those children on the street must. Because I survived years of pain, that young lady must not give up. I did it ONCE and FOR ALL. I did it for Ghana. I did it for FAMILY. I did it for you.
Another time, we will talk about the effect of the Kayawei spirit on parenting. Parental control has a tendency to be very skewed because of the spirit it of ‘I DID IT ONCE AND FOR ALL”. Sometimes, as youths we need to get our own experiences. We may be born rich, but you must learn to understand poverty else we will think only the rich live in the world. Dear Parents, let us build like you did, let us earn like you did.
Remember, the Kayawei/Alabaru’s help stops at the point you board your vehicle to the house. In the same way, unfortunately, our parents will not always be there to help (though they would love to). At sometime, we will have to carry our groceries into the kitchen, into the fridge, to the table, into our mouths, ourselves. SOME experiences were just meant for you to experience on first-hand.
Remember, the Kayawei/Alabaru’s help stops at the point you board your vehicle to the house. In the same way, unfortunately, our parents will not always be there to help (though they would love to). At sometime, we will have to carry our groceries into the kitchen, into the fridge, to the table, into our mouths, ourselves. SOME experiences were just meant for you to experience on first-hand.