New Theme for Monday: My Covid 19 Story
It was barely a month to my final exams when the University announced that we should all go home and stay put to prevent the spread of the viral infection.
At that point i didn't really understand the gravity as i felt okay maybe we will just go home for a few weeks and come then and then reality struck.
The interruption was indefinite pending when the wave of infection subsides. By the way my mum had to stop work as well because she teaches at a private school and she wasn't going to get paid for the period of lockdown. Do i want to take about my dad well let me stop here.
All i know is that we were not prepared, no savings nothing and at that point the lock down and the implication financially, psychologically, socially and career wise on me, my friends and family was so scary that i couldn't take the next step and all i could think of was how were we going to survive?.
Well it wasn't long, i had to take side jobs like teaching tutorials to keep children at home company and engaged, and almost any decent service i could render.
A lot of times i thought i had just one month left to finish my studies i would have graduated and have a certificate to probably work in a health setting and cover up a little for the serious financial stress the lockdown posed but if wishes were horses right?
It was hard i must say i was psychological down a lot of times. My family was pushed to limits you don't want to imagine.
It was hard staying at home, not having stores of food to last you, with closed down markets, no nearby farm or garden and having to bother about what to eat without any government support not that i was expecting any anyways.
You might want to say, why didn't you store up or stack up beforehand? Well we couldn't and we had to dance to the beat. My mother also resorted to taking home lessons, being a teacher maintaining the health protocols of course.
I remember when she announced she got an offer for a home lesson it was like heaven had come down, a glimpse of hope and a ray of light.
At that point it was hard for everyone, there wasn't any shoulder to lean on, we had to brace ourselves and be strong for one another because everyone had it tough and was trying to survive.
I thank God we survived without contacting Covid 19. There were actually episodes of bouts of fever, headache and malaise but nothing antimalarial couldn't handle.
Thank God no one needed oxgen to survive, that would have been too much on us. Was it a Covid infection back then? well i have moved passed that now.
We were able to manage on the little everyone was able to bring to the table and as weeks and months passed, i thought to myself so i survived? My family survived?
Well they say when life throws you lemons you make lemonade every member of my family participated in making this lemonade. We cut down rations to the minimum, we cracked jokes to lighten ourselves, we were strong together and we conquered.
After a while most of the restrictions were lifted and schools resumed, my siblings went back to school, and even though i had lost about a year of school work, i resumed my exams and passed.
Now i have a job, things are not all barbie in disney land yet, but they are much better and there is hope.
I have learnt to keep my hopes alive to ignite the hopes of others because despite the pandemic, ill look foward to beautiful things in future.
#My Covid Story.