THE LIFETIME RACE
By: Lubnah Abdulhalim
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| Photo Courtesy: Salem_beliegraphy |
Once one steps
into the job called ‘kazi ya kutafuta kazi’ then reality strikes you hard. Sometimes
having a degree or even a master’s degree doesn’t really guarantees you a job
on the ground. It may take one, months or even years before finally securing a
job somewhere. Many people gave up hope in the process and ended up idle in the
streets while others ventured into illegal businesses like drug trafficking. It
isn’t anything new that unemployment is dragging our country behind and Kenyans
have lived to see very educated people selling water or becoming ‘mama mboga’
and others have done a totally different field in jobs from the course they
studied, due to unemployment.
Employment has
become an issue of luck rather than a person’s intellectuality. Some people who
just have a diploma or even form four finishers have been able to sometimes
acquire a job before the more learned and intelligent people. It is this kind
of competition that many people are facing at the moment and for a lifetime but
once one acquires the job, then he is overjoyed such that he forgets all that
hustle they went through.
After that now
comes the salary issue whereby everyone builds castles in the air of huge
amounts of money they will acquire. The fresh youth from graduation are always
anticipating the receiving of the cash and have high hopes that they will earn
well since they believe their education level or intelligence is high enough.
Well, the bosses know better and sometimes, one may end up earning as low as a
quarter of the estimation you made on your salary!
That is not
all; you then come to realize that having a job is not a bed of roses as such.
There is a heap of work waiting for you each morning, some annoying colleagues
or maybe an irritating boss. What can be most disturbing is when you have to
redo your work again or the consistent summoning by the boss on the do’s and
don’ts that you are not following. Sometimes you have to work for extra hours
such that when you get home, your family is already asleep and you leave too
early to work when everyone is still asleep. There are many sacrifices one has
to make at times, like that of going to work even on Sundays, during public
holidays or even having to miss family weddings and events.
End month is
the time all employees countdown to, especially when it gets to half month and
they are next to bankruptcy! It is a moment of joy and everyone celebrates it
in their own way. Others give themselves a treat while others save it for the
future. And the reward for all the sacrifices is always remarkable; when one
gets his salary and is able to accomplish their dreams and satisfy the family’s
needs at that.
Acquiring a job
may be hectic but being in the job, being able to secure it and profit from it
is even trickier. It is for this reason we are to respect all those people
rushing up and down in offices and even the ones selling newspapers and food
stuff by the roads. Respect as well to the ones spending all their coins and
energy in search of jobs too! Because as they say ‘kazi ni kazi na hata
kutafuta kazi ni kazi!’
