Happy New Year
2020 was a difficult year for everyone because in one way or another, Covid 19 touched everyone. For some, the touch was deep and very rough and for others, it was a mere nudge which they were able to move forward from. Like everyone else, I was also touched by Covid 19. I did not receive a salary for 9 months and it was tough. My teenage children needed to eat full time (teenager's appetite is on another level) plus the usual household expenses that do not stop just because you do not have money. To say that it was tough is an understatement. We pulled through though by the grace of God and here we are in January 2021. I am back to work, my children are back to school and everything seems to be going back to normal.
The whole situation left me disturbed as there were days when I found myself worrying whether there would be enough food for everyone. I am sure that you my reader probably went through a similar situation or worse or you were not affected by the pandemic. I know of people who could not afford rent and ended up moving back to the village, some went for days without food. Some people lost their jobs permanently and some could barely afford one meal in a day. It was tough and it seemed like an endless situation. I thank God that I don't live in a rented house and God provided for us every single day and we did not lack completely.
The worst part of this pandemic is that some families lost their loved ones and one cannot even begin to describe their pain. Some people lost their spouses, their children, siblings and even grandparents. We lost doctors, young and old, specialists in different fields and the the country was just hit hard. Losing a loved one has never been easy, it scars you for life. To all those who lost their loved ones, may God truly comfort you in a way only He can. It is a difficult thing to go through and only God can heal your heart.
For others Covid 19 was an eye opener. It turned 2020 into that year that some people discovered their hidden talents, not only discovering the talent but monetizing it. Some discovered their business skills and went on to make huge profits out of their newly opened businesses. I saw people sell from the boot of their cars. 2020 was the year that confirmed to many that it is always important to have more than one source of income. It was the year that online learning found its place in this country as this was the only way that students could access education. It was still on this digital platform that churches found a new platform to interact with their members. It was in 2020 that we all learned to live with the mask. I still struggle keeping it on for more than a minute, but I am used to it now.
For city dwellers, the lockdown was not an easy one. It separated families for prolonged periods of time and i cannot even imagine the kind of damage it did. I imagine some marriages were broken, family members went for months without interacting with each other, some jobs were lost as some people could not leave the city to access them. I still remember the exodus out of the city when the lockdown was removed. I have never longed for the village like a did those few months. The curfew was interesting. I remember i was arrested together with my children after being found outside after 9.00pm. Thank God the Policeman forgave us with a stern warning. I will never forget how shaken I was by that experience.
Tough a year as it was, God saw us through. We cannot say that we made it on our own. Despite the lack of salaries or closing of businesses for some, we still had something to eat and a roof over our heads otherwise we would be dead from starvation. We may never go back to life as we knew it before Covid 19 but we are still here by the grace of God. He protected us, provided for us and comforted us while we cried and felt empty.
May 2021 be a better year. May we achieve all the things that we were not able to achieve in 2020 and may God protect us even as talk of a new strain of the virus begins to take shape. We shall overcome, we are more than conquerors!
Yours truly
Noel Omukubi
