Arrival-ism in the Downtown.

I bought a pair of crimson red shoes (mu'china) from a street in Kampala's Downtown at only thirteen thousand Uganda shillings. I had been wearing one of my favorite Stilettos but shortly they became an inconvenience in this part of the city because of the many angry people down there pushing me left, right and center as it always is the norm. I only needed any shoes for comfort temporarily and these seemed to serve the purpose.

One month down the road, I was stunned by the fact that these shoes had not even amassed a slight amount of dust nor mad on these streets of ours in their unkempt nature. Only then did I notice just how much care I took while walking as though I was treading on eggshells. My "usual" shoes which I take time to select suggested strength and longevity by their pricing that's often higher which is why I walked so carelessly in them even when I kept a tidy soul. By comparison it seemed like my "mu'china" was stronger than my Aldos original shoe.

The magic may not be about the material of my shoes but rather my managerial techniques. I expected the former to be weak and temporary that I gave them my best behavior unlike the later where my expectations were high that I sluggishly cut their lifespan short.

For many Ugandans, we speak of "government etuyambe" where our expectations are so high that anything below it's belt calls for a state outcry. A couple of weeks ago, while having a chat with a colleague from Djibouti before the atmosphere was hijacked into a party, she mentioned that in her country there is a sizable number of refugees that were settled in one of their ruined towns from Yemen and within no time, this place had been developed into a great city. Then I remembered a conversation with one good Local Council leader from Amuru District, Northern Uganda who expressed his sentiments about refugees settled in a camp in his district who are seemingly developing at a higher rate than his locals in the area. Let's not forget the kind of atrocious acts being committed by South Africans against the many other Africans in this part of the country. (Xenophobia)

I understand refugees get a lot of external aid to better themselves as well as good guidance from the host community but why is it that they demonstrate higher commitment for their works than most locals. 

Should I imagine that locals suffer from an expectancy syndrome? That they expect things to be done for them, with a certain sense of entitlement than it is the case for refugees. Let's look at the so called legitimate children against the illegitimate ones or even street children against the "formally" raised ones. In a place where you have to fend for yourself without much expectation from your surrounding, you seek aid from within. And trust me I have seen God come through for such moments and such people.

Our expectations shouldn't corrupt our responsibility but rather, as the theory goes, they should keep us motivated with valence. Also, comfort zones should be temporary lest we suffer the arrival-ism syndrome and these birds will gladly grasp away the grain. The same manners we exhibit while visiting a Very Important Person should stick with us in our own homes just like my hard core shoes deserve the same kind of treatment as my mu'china.

Let's live on the edge, for when we become of age, our lives will be worth every breath.