The Flower That Survived 19 Years of Drought

Will-power of a Hustler

Will-power of a Hustler

Will-power is the bridge that transports the poor across life's journey. A poor man's goals are like fruits upon a tree, but in order to climb the ladder and snatch the prize; he must execute will-power. It is the catalysis for self-reliance and self-fulfilment," I whispered inside my head looking at a plane cutting through the cloudy sky.

Our growing up without a father placed heavy burdens on SunShine's head. Most times she had it very difficult to send us to school and to provide the basic needs required for survival. She was unemployed, but it didn't make a bit of difference. Her unlimited dedication and sacrifices made an immense impact on our lives. She performed every effort to make certain we were raised in the best possible way. She would have wrung blood out of stone if she could just to ensure we survived the long drought in our lives. However, sometimes her sacrifices couldn't pull us through the dusty desert. Hunger attacked us like an armed robber and poverty kept us imprisoned as hostages for many years. The tight grip of poverty on our lives could make a dumb man talk and cause a deaf man to hear. Its rusty and heavy cold iron chains wrapped my feet like a rope, breaking free from the shackles of poverty was imperative to survive the drought. We were very poor but possessed the richest tools, ambitions and willpower, which could have taken us a long way. I read in the bible that it

took David just one stone and a slingshot to slay Goliath. I intended to do the same like David because poverty stood in our way like a giant. I knew in myself that I had to discovery a way to generate money in the house.

"Life never leave us without a choice," I said aloud to myself while bathing.

I was right. I had a choice, the illegal way or the legal way.

"A job would make these hard times easier, man, why life has to be so tough on a poor youth? Nevertheless, I have the most important things of all; talents and natural survival instincts. Raw talents mixed with intellect and hustling skills, equal 100 percent gun powder. With this in my arsenal, I could beat all odds," I said to myself looking in the mirror.

Although it was against the law for an employer to recruit underage children to do labour, I was given the privilege to work at a local hardware store in my community. I was assigned to work at the back which most would have considered risky for a thirteen-year-old, but I couldn't care less. All that mattered to me was to get paid. My job was to weigh red cement and stack heavy boxes of tiles in a secure location. The red cement had to be weighed in pounds. At first, I assumed it was quite an easy task but I made a huge mistake; it was difficult than I thought. Two bags of red cement took me an entire day to weigh by the pounds in small Polly bags. Most times when I was finished weighing, I would be red from head to feet. My working hours were from 8:30 am to 6:00pm, whether it was during the week or on weekends. This wasn't the job I wanted to do, but I didn't have any other options. This was the only way to generate money in the house because there was no calling Dad for money. He changed his phone number without informing us. In my life, I have never seen this coming until it hit me hard like a baseball bat. What appeared before my face was a black-and-white situation, either I was going to do the job to survive or sit around with my hands fold and watched as my life drift away like the desert sand in the wind. I didn't have a lazy spirit, so I worked to the best of my ability. I had the will-power to overcome the hardships that engulfed my life. However, in the mornings when I knew I had to get up out of bed to go to work; I'd always wish life wouldn't have to spend me out opposing all the time. I struggled daily to survive, but my determination and faith became a source of fuel for strength and motivation. I was paid $300 dollars per day, which was equivalent to about $4 US dollar at the time. I gave thanks but it just wasn't enough to supply the basic needs or send neither Zeke nor myself to school.