Visit many pit latrines in Juba. Many are filled full with littered bottles. When the water or juice in a bottle is drunk up, it is just littered anywhere.
No one likes to carry an empty bottle. A bottle is useful because of what is in it. When it is used up already, then it becomes useless.
A breastfeeding baby bites the nip of her mother’s breast when it sacks all the milk in it. It does not have any respect for the mother when what is useful is over. A baby just concludes that since there is no milk to be sacked anymore, there is nothing the mother deserves than punishment. Remember this is a very young child who does not know anything yet. This child knows that what is useless can only be damped.
A man married a very beautiful woman. They got married when the man was working for a very powerful International NGO. He was paid very well. The man is a professional mechanical engineer. But the wife was a senior four leaver. Despite their educational gap, they were happy in their marriage.
One thing the man decided to do was to invest in his wife. He channeled all his money to his wife’s education. His wife joined the University. The man provided everything for her education. After four years, his wife graduated. They had a powerful celebration all together.
In 2020, Corona Virus came. The man lost his job due to corona. Since he had used all his money for his wife’s education, things became hard for the family. He had his children in Kampala. The two of them were Juba. Things were very hard but they persevered for a while.
It did not take very long. The wife got a well-paying job. The man thought things would be better since his wife got a job. But things did not come as he expected. His wife told him that the responsibility of the family belongs to man. He must remain the provider for the family.
The man’s wife decreed to him that her money must go to her parents. She must build for her parents. She said that she did not marry the man. The man married her. She continued explaining to the man that though she had a lot of money as grass of the field, she could not take up man’s role. The story changed for the man.
The family that was once united had fallen apart. Disagreements after disagreements started to come. They were together for eight years and produced four children. Though being together for eight years and having four children, the wife decided to go to her parent’s home. She denounced the man calling him useless and irresponsible. The man once praised by his wife was then damped by the same wife after losing his job.
Though the wife went to her parents’ home, the man didn’t give up on life. He took a bold decision of going to Kampala and takes care of his four children. For two years, he was in Kampala cooking for the children and doing everything for them. He became the mother and the father as well. The neighbours could wonder to see the type of a South Sudanese man like him. A man who could go to the market, cook, bathe children, sweep, wash and do many other home chores. The man overcame all the prejudice from the neighbours and others and continued taking care of his children.
After corona, the man came back to Juba. God was with him. He got a job. The job paid him well. A year went. His wife realized that he got a job. She started building the relationship again. The parents of his wife who kept his wife for two years started demanding for more money. They thought the man would not manage to pay. The man having planned everything well, he paid all that the in-laws demanded.
After giving everything the parents of his wife demanded, he was told to have his wife back. As was never expected, he man declined the request. He called his wife who damped him and explained to her everything she did to the family. He said her decision of leaving him with the children after losing his job was unbearable.
Though the wife cried with tears, the man decided to bring a new woman home. He was very disappointed. He could not believe it that his wife whom he educated with his whole heart could call him useless after getting a job. The woman went away with regrets. Her parents regretted much more.
A certain man too had four brothers. He went to school before his brothers. When he finished Sudan Certificate of Secondary School, he got a very good job. He saved and got married. Though he had opportunities to further his education, he decided to educate his four brothers. He told his brothers that he would educate them so that they would later take up his family’s responsibility.
The man educated his four brothers as agreed. He spent every inch of his money on them. When they finished school, he managed to find them jobs. He also married for them. His brothers became very responsible and had a lot of money. He was happy that his brothers would then educate his children whom he did not educate due to their education.
Years passed by and the man retired due to some health issues. He could not continue to work because of his health. He went to his brothers explaining to them everything about his family. He told them to take up his family’s responsibility. It was very unfortunate that all the four brothers denied taking up his responsibility. They told him that he educated them just because they were his brothers. It is always the role of an elder son in the family to raise his followers. They all concluded just as that.
The old man started regretting. He invested on his brothers thinking they would take up the responsibility of his family. He forgot it was his role as an elder. He would have invested on his brothers while investing on himself too. He would have educated his children as well to take up his family’s responsibility. He lost his value and he was damped.
You must have noticed. People who have many followers are business men/women and politicians. When a certain state in the US refused to vote for Donald Trump, he told them he would close up all his five hundred companies in their state. Though they didn’t want Donald Trump, they voted for him so that they could not lose five companies which employ almost the entire population of the state.
Business people and politicians have money. Those who are against them are those who don’t benefit from their money. As long as they continue to give money, they are praised and followed. They may be cruel and brutal, but their cruelty and brutality is taken as blessing instead.
I had seen a tragedy. There was this politician. Before the civil war of 2013 in South Sudan, he was popular and had a lot of followers. If moved alone, he was with ten men behind. Otherwise, he used to move with more than fifty able men. But in 2013, he lost all his money. He became very broke. All his followers flew away as dust flown by monsoon wind. They avoided even his phone calls. The man well praised was damped.
People come close to you because they see something valuable in you. A man without food is not even followed by his own dog. A man or woman without value is not seen even by a blind person. Birds don’t pass by his house.
When you notice that people don’t call you for meetings; when they don’t invite you for occasions; when they don’t visit your family; when they don’t greet you when you meet them; when they don’t mention your name in their gatherings; when they easily forget your name; when they don’t wait for you to decide; when they don’t give you time to speak during occasions; when they don’t keep your words; when they backbite you; when they avoid you in every place; when they don’t laugh when you laugh; when children don’t model you; when a girl says she doesn’t love you; when your wife says she doesn’t love you; when your children say you are not a good father; When your parents don’t say our son or daughter; when your employer wants to terminate you; when people shout when talking to you; when you have many opposing you; just know that you lack value.
Your value is mainly brought by your career and money though value is brought by self-respect. If you continue adding your career and money, everyone will call you “baba” or “mama”; even your own parents! People will be bribed to kill you. You will give them money and leave you. Your rivals will be termed criminals and be killed even by those who don’t know you. If you are a man, every lady will prefer to be your wife. If you have career and money, even in churches, your bad actions won’t be discussed in their meetings. They will keep postponing till they forget about them. You will insult someone but the person will say thankful. But try to lose your value, you will be littered everywhere. The only place they will litter you is juba pit latrines. Be valuable till you die.