Dear National Service Scheme personnel, A few days from now, you’ll be relieved of your duties at your various places of service. Some of you(f
Dear National Service Scheme personnel,
A few days from now, you’ll be relieved of your duties at your various places of service. Some of you(few) will be maintained to continue working as permanent or contract staff.
Some of you (the majority) will be asked to go home after you serve the nation. For the few who’ll be maintained, you’re fortunate.
For some of you who are fortunate to have come from families with good financial standing, your ordeal may be different.
Some of you have side businesses that you run alongside the NSS, this is the time for you to have proper time for your businesses. You’re fortunate, take good care of the business.
For those of you who won’t be maintained, with no businesses to run and not from families with good financial standing, your ‘go home’ is going to mean you’ll be home for the time between the day you finish with NSS and the day of finding a job or business or furthering your education.
Look, the truth is, which you already know, the GHS 559 will not come again. In fact, it’ll not even be in arrears for you to be hopeful of getting someday.
You’ll have nowhere to dress up every morning to go to as you’ve been doing for almost a year now. People who thought you were employed will ask and you’ll have to explain.
The respect society has for you will begin to diminish especially from the uneducated folks. The thinking of most people is that people who are home after university probably didn’t pass well which is almost always untrue.
The responsibilities that the GHS 559 handled will come again. If not all, the basic ones will come. They may double! The expectations from the family will increase and there’ll be pressure.
You’ll see your mates do better than you. It’ll look like you’re a failure, no! you’re not!
If you’re not careful, drugs and alcohol will become your friends.
Someone will ask, what then is the way forward? The answer is START!
The obvious follow-up question will be, start what? A business when I don’t have capital?
Yes, a business! you don’t necessarily need thousands or millions of Cedis to start a business.
We read in the news about how people start their multi-million businesses with no money or something very little and laugh them off. They may sometimes exaggerate but most of these stories are true.
Most of the successful businesses you see around have very humble beginnings.
Start something now! Forget about class now, the class will come when there’s life.
When I get there someday, I’ll tell you a story of how I started my business with GHS 00.00. For now, my business only puts food on my table and takes care of my fees and other responsibilities.
If you want to further too, START! Start applying for scholarships. Besides, you can start a business that’ll be taking care of your bills as you chase the scholarships.
The magic is in STARTING and NOT QUITTING. Train your mind to know that, there’ll be failures along the line but you won’t quit. The most powerful motivation is where you’re now and where you want to get to.
Just START something now or when you finish with service!
Author: Jacob Akandaga
The author is a student at the University of Education, Winneba, a writer and a businessman
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