You are a teacher. You are blessed with great knowledge. You are blessed with many great skills. You have great values and attitude.
God planned it that you become a teacher. He must have a purpose for it. The purpose must not be far from giving to the Nation.
I thank God for you, teachers. You have understood your role for the Nation. Though you go hungry each day, you must go to class and give to the Nation. You are frustrated but you still go to class and give to the Nation. You can’t eat the food you want but you continue to teach and give to the Nation. You can’t get the right medication with your family but you each day go to class and give to the Nation. You are ignored everywhere. You are ignored because you don’t receive enough money. But you take courage and continue to give to the Nation.
Your work is not recognized. You are underpaid. You are less motivated. They don’t think you deserve much. Many think it is normal for a teacher to be underpaid. Forgive them. The Nation does not think about you. You have gone to school. You have degrees. You didn’t study for free to give free. I understand it, my teacher. You work for eight hours each day. You are loaded with a lot of work. With the eight hours and a lot of work, you are still underpaid. What pains me so much is the belief that you deserve to receive less because you are a teacher. People forget your education, the hours you take working and the workload.
My dear teacher, you don’t deserve to be underpaid. I know you have basic needs as any other human being. You need water, food, medication, education for your children, among others. If you work without being paid, how will you manage to live?
Please, I apologize on behalf of the Nation. I know you are building the Nation. With your heart, you want a better South Sudan. Your joy is the future of South Sudan’s children. But dear teacher, you need to think twice as you give to the Nation. Giving to the Nation does not mean committing suicide. Most of you live frustrated thinking you deserve so because you are giving to the Nation. You want to die poor in the name of giving to the nation. God forbids!
Think twice. For your information, no one will ever think about you. Your knowledge will one day be no more. Your teaching skills will one day be unhelpful. You will be powerless. You won’t have any ability to work anymore. That is when you will remember that you won’t have given to the Nation but you will have cursed yourself. What does giving to the nation mean to you when you can’t manage to live as human beings live? For you, you ignorantly think teaching alone even if you don’t get anything from it is giving to the Nation. Never!
Dear teacher, I want to tell you that giving to the nation begins with you. You are part of the nation. You need to move out of your comfort zone. If you think people will remember your work and pay you better one day, I am sorry dear. It won’t happen in our generation. You must try something else. I hear people say, “Teachers will be paid in heaven.” Forget! There is no money in heaven. That statement is oppressive. You must try something else. You can make it even in business. Your eight hours are enough to earn you more. Your knowledge and skills can make money for you.
You will give to the nation better if you manage to provide for your family. Forcing yourself to class while frustrated will not help the nation. You will continue to blame the government for your suffering but that won’t help you at all. The government does not care about you and it will never care about you. The government does not know what you go through. You know what you go through. You know very well the nature of human beings. They only know what they want. They care little about what others want. You are the solution to your problem, my dear teacher. If you don’t consider moving out of your comfort zone, then I am scared of what the future holds. Regrets are waiting! No one is responsible for your regrets. Your life is your life.
The nation is waiting for your death. They will bury you. After the burial, no one will think about you anymore. Humans forget everything about you by the time you reach to your grave. They will continue to remember you if you have saved enough money which they will continue to eat. But if you haven’t saved anything, you are forgotten for good!!! Even at your funeral, few will attend. The attendance of funerals these days is determined by the number of bulls that will be slaughtered. If your funeral has no bull, your funeral has less attendance. Maybe those who don’t know there is no bull will accidentally find themselves there.
I know some teachers who are resting in their graves now. No one remembers their giving to the nation. Their children are on the streets as I write. No one cares about their families. They had the stupid mindset you have now. They thought they were giving to the nation. Their families were going hungry but they could not think twice because they were giving to the nation. They have not left any house for their children. They haven’t left any assets either. You will die like them. You won’t leave anything to your children. You are planning for your children to be on the street after your death. Oh, God forgives us.
You can’t deny this. Your family does not respect you at all. He/she who provides is respected. You are not providing anything to the family. The family is just so tired of your complaints. Complaints won’t earn you respect. You don’t even know the reason why you are not respected by your learners. Who can respect a broke man or woman? Today’s respect is put to money, my dear. “No, money, no respect!”
I am a teacher like you. I am nothing even to my own parents. I have tested so many people whether they understand me because of my giving to the nation or because of my money. The day I have money, it is the day I will be greeted by so many people and receive many phone calls. Most people call me when I receive my salary. The time I go broke is the time I lose friends and relatives. My own students don’t greet me when I meet them on the way. They call me, Sir but I know they are mocking me. One day my student whom I taught in 2020 was shocked finding that I was putting on the same shirt I had been putting on when she was still in my class. And she asked, “Are you still the same, Sir?” I could not answer her anything. I only smiled and she guessed the rest of the story (I was giving to the Nation).
I know one of my colleagues in the teaching profession. He planned to marry. He was rejected by the parents of the girl because he didn’t have enough cattle. That girl was taught by a teacher. If it is true that parents believe teachers can just give to the nation without thinking about money, why wasn’t my friend given that lady for free? I myself was rejected by a lady because she termed me a broke guy. About 95% of young teachers in our nation are unmarried, why aren’t they given ladies for free because they are giving to the nation? The parents want the teachers to pay a lot of money or many cattle to marry their daughters but when the school managements increase the school fees, they will all complain and go on strike. Do they really think about teachers? When I am in a bus even with my t-shirt written teaching staff, the driver who is a parent does not leave my money. The parents are selling things in the market. They don’t reduce prices for teachers, do they? You want me to continue teaching your children for free but you can’t give me things for free, do you really think about this?
I don’t know how things are going on with doctors outside there. I know teachers and doctors are people considered to be giving free service to the nation. I request one doctor to tell us how things are outside there with them. Maybe it is fine with them.
My dear people, this is our Nation. The Nation is for every one of us. I don’t think you are right to think teachers should give free to the nation. I don’t also think you are right to think teachers should die poor because they are giving to the nation. I know you don’t think about the great work done by teachers in this nation. The World International Teachers’ Day passed this week. What did you do to any teacher? I myself didn’t receive any message from a parent or a child. But I teach perfect English. I believe other teachers didn’t receive it. The government didn’t organize any public gatherings for the teachers. When it is SPLA day, people obey and no work is done that day. Even the other days, there is no work at all. But it is teachers’ day, things go on normal. I just don’t understand the game.
Teachers, wake up. Giving to the nation does not mean working for free. It starts with you. Die poor at your own risk. Everyone can give to the nation. Give to the nation but think twice, otherwise….!