**SEC17 WK:#4: the effects of economic hardships on families **

“Hard times are here!”

I can remember these words from my mother so well. Little did I realize what she meant with these words. It was only as I grew older and had my own family that the words sunk in, and I got to experience them firsthand.

Economic hardships on families!

A topic that 99.9% of us can write about. If you are one of those who fall under the 0.1% bracket, count your lucky stars and don’t even bother to read further, as this post is not for you.
If you are one of those who fall under the 99.9% bracket, I encourage you to read to the very end.

If I had to explain to you what economic hardship is, I could do it in four words, “when you are tested!”

I have seen families where economic hardship took away the millions in their bank accounts.

I have seen families that were left with nothing—not a house, no transport, and no food on the table. The cardboard boxes are their makeshift home under the bridge of an intersection.

I have seen families where the head of the house committed suicide due to the economic hardships the family experienced.

These families were tested to the “T.” Some of them survived, and others did not. Oh yes, and then some do their utmost to survive each day.

It is with the latter that I want to stand still—those families that are fighting for survival in difficult economic situations.

2023, and my daughter and her husband decided they wanted to immigrate. Fine, I understand where they come from. They are thinking of their children and what is best for them. South Africa is not the country it used to be, and it is getting more and more difficult for the youth to survive. At the end of last year, the unemployment rate was 32.1%.

They decided to immigrate to New Zealand despite warnings from us. My son is living in Ireland, and for me, it only made sense that they should think about moving somewhere where there will be support for them. What do mothers know? New Zealand, it will be.

They went ahead and sold everything—the house, cars, and furniture. What they could not sell, they gave away. They were only left with a suitcase each for the four of them, filled with clothes and some personal belongings. The rest they will buy there.

The grass was not as green as they thought it was going to be. After only two weeks, it was decided to kiss New Zealand goodbye. This was after they paid for the visas and flight tickets, paid upfront rent for six months, bought things for the rented house that they could not bring back with them, and the list goes on. They lost everything!

Back in South Africa, there was no job, no home, and a country that was economically being tested. There was no longer an income, let alone a budget.

They had no choice but to move in with the in-laws. Coming to us was out of the question, as life is very expensive here and the opportunities in Johannesburg are so much more. Johannesburg is a hundred times bigger than our town.

It was not easy for them. There were not even beds for the children to sleep on. If the kids were hungry, she had to ask her mother-in-law if it was okay if she gave them some bread to eat. Many days I would call her, and all she could do was cry. I often wonder what she did with the money I keep giving her. One thing I am certain of is that it never went to her but to her family.

It was of utmost importance for her husband to find a job and for the kids to get back into school. Education is very expensive in South Africa, and she didn’t know what she was going to do. After a couple of days, she walked into the school, knocked on the principal’s office, and walked in. She was determined to see him, no matter what.

I called her later, and she could not even speak; she was crying. The school accepted the children without them paying a school fee. In fact, they went so far as to take her to the second-hand shop and give her the school clothes the two needed. All that was left for me was to buy their stationery, school bags, and lunch boxes, and to make sure there was always something for her to pack for them.

The money they had left after their ordeal was used to buy a small second-hand vehicle so that her husband could do some odd jobs. It is fine when you have a vehicle, but it is not so fine when you have to put in fuel and you don’t have the money or when you have the money and the vehicle breaks. It is was also not fine if you had to ride around for days looking for something to do. “Sorry, we don’t have vacancies.” Or, “Sorry we don’t need anyone right now, we will phone you.”

“Mom, I never realized how difficult it is out there. I now know what it takes just to survive.” My daughter’s words.

When you are in the financial sector, you know all too well that there are three main reasons for economic hardship: material difficulties, financial stress, and when people are poverty strapped. They experienced all three.

Six months later, I bought them flight tickets to come to us for my birthday. All I wanted was to have my daughter and my grandchildren with me. There were big crocodile tears when we fetched them at the airport last week. My daughter lost a lot of weight, even though she is a tiny person. She looked so fragile, yet so happy.

They are on the road named “Recovery.” They now rent a small place they can call home. Family and friends opened their “homes” for them and donated furniture and other things. She was lucky, as so many of our boxes are still in storage. She could put me on call, and I could tell her. ‘’Take it”.. and “You can have it.”

The kids are loving their schools, and her husband, previously a business owner, is now selling sweets to tuck shops and fixing cameras. As for her, she created a pamphlet and started advertising her services. She even had an interview on Friday right here in my hometown and will be doing SEO work remotely for the lady. I am super proud of them! They are being tested!

They have far to go to get where they were before the move, and I doubt if they will ever get there, but one thing is certain: their love for each other will keep them going no matter how difficult the situation might be.

My friends, there are so many valuable lessons to learn from their ordeal when it comes to economic difficulties.

• No matter the decisions you make, keep your dignity.
• To survive, the decisions you make must become absolute and simpler.
• There are always people willing to help.
• It is not wrong to ask.
• There is always someone somewhere who is worse off than you.
• Help others, and one day you will reap the rewards.
• Learn from your experience.
• Take it one day at a time, but keep your eyes on the goal at all times.
• Turn your pennies over (think before you spend).
• Love each other!
• You pray like never before.

There is only one thing left for me to say regarding economic difficulties for families, you have to plan for what the future might bring. If I hadn't done it, I would not have been in a position to help them nor to spoil them as I could in the few days we had.

Always plan for the unexpected!

I invite: @wilmer1988 @aviral123 @chant @suboohi to participate.

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