Had I known...
Vera's joy knew no bound when it was just few day to exiting the camp whose sweet taste is now becoming sour. The thrill and the enjoyment had disappeared.
It was as though the excitement to be in the Nysc camp faded away just few days into the whole camping experience. Prior to the time Vera's arrived camp she had been having all manner of dreams and fantasies about the Nysc orientation camp.
She just couldn't wait to experience these whole thing herself. Although most of her friends that had already tasted camp and also served for the usual one year had shared their experiences with her.
Many told her Nysc was just a waste of time and also shared with here their unpleasant experiences. Some others came with good report you know, sharing how nysc changed their life right from the orientation camp.
This was the motivation vera needed. Hearing Juliet her friend recount how her primary place of assignment (PPA) in Ogun state where she served made life comfortable for her as they provided everything she needed.
She was given some sort of allowance monthly which was different from the one federal government gives to them monthly.
Her boss in the school where she work also supplies her with food item regularly to ensure she is not starving and to crown it all she was also given an accommodation close to her PPA.
With all of this, Juliet was living comfortably and would hardly touch her federal allowance because there wasn't need for it.
All these made Vera's ear tingle and then it created a picture in her mind.
She wanted the same experience for herself...she wants to go and enjoy herself for the 12 months she will be serving and she doesn't care how that is going to be possible... She really wanted to be back with her exciting story as well.
That been said,let's travel back to the present. And so the D-Day came when everybody was to be discharged from the orientation camp to their PPA. Everyone who didn't redeploy got their PPA letter which is to be taken to the place stated for acceptance or rejection.
This was where the whole drama started as Vera became very anxious and apprehensive because she now has her letter in her hands but doesn't really know if the place she was sent to looks like the picture she had in mind. She wanted nothing less.
Well she just had to go and see things for herself and with the help of some camp officials and colleagues she was able to locate her PPA and on getting there she met some coper who were refered to as senior copers by the virtue of exposure and time already spent in the environment.
One of those that welcomed her cheerfully was Coper Sandra who happened to be the copers liason officer (CLO). She felt safe and happy seeing that she was given a warm welcome although she had a lot of questions on her mind which she need to unbottle as soon as possible so that she can know her fate.
She had to put up with Coper Sandra,the CLO since she hasn't gotten a place to stay yet as she hasn't reported to her PPA. She then saw that as an avenue to ask her the questions on her mind which she feels will go a long way in making her dream come true.
"Coper Sandra, do you know where my PPA is? " What can you say about it. Do they give copers something extra? Is it far from here"?. All these questions came out in breath, coper Sandra on hearing the many questions did not even know where to start answering from.
Alright Vera, yes I know where your PPA is, it's a bit far from where we are, a bike of N50 - N100 will do but it quite trekable if you decide to go by foot...about something extra, ermmmm.... I think they do but it's just a stipend to keep soul and body together.
Vera was already having a feeling of dissatisfaction even as Coper Sandra continued,she had to stylishly excuse herself and went to be alone. Her dream for comfort was already being defeated. She started making plans on ways to change her PPA to somewhere better.
She then went back to Sandra and asked her jokingly about the juicy PPA's in that environment. Well Vera was able to mention few and then she made her plans to change her PPA known to her and pleaded with her to help her out. Well it worked out and then she was posted to one of the place Sandra mentioned.
Oh what a relief it was for her. The new PPA is just a stone throw, as they gave her accomodation close to the olace. Her dream for comfort was becoming real. What was left was the mouth watering allowance and other benefit she was told about by some other colleagues.
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Everything went well afterwards.
she was getting a juicy monthly allowance apart from her federal allowance, other fringe benefit and utility bills was also taken care of. Tips from those who come to the organization was also part of what she enjoyed.
On one fateful day in Vera's organization, a new boss came on board. This is just 3 months after Vera resumed there. This was the beginning of the ordeal for vera. This new boss came and changed everything that looked like the usual in the organization. Everyone in the organization suffered the effect of his leadership.
The new boss first made sure that excessive spending was cut down on seriously. He claimed it was the reason the company wasn't bringing in better return at the regional level and this affected the fringe benefit that was coming in steadily. If normal worker could feel the heat how much much a mere coper, a temporal staff...
Vera's monthly allowance stopped.
The new boss claimed he won't be responsible for that ,he would only give stipends any time there is enough,he also decided to stop taking responsibility for utility bill such as electricity, he claimed that they were being paid and should in turn be able to pay their bill and not put that burden on the organization.
This was way to much for the worker. Vera could not believe all that was happening, just yesterday she was living the life she wanted and today everything is crumbling before her very eyes. Even her accomodation was tampered with by the boss if not for the intervention of some very top officials. The new boss came to restructure everything.
Well vera had to pick up herself from her present predicament. She had about 9 month to cope with this whole thing. She can't imagine how she will survive with all of this. All the money she had saved up are now being used for things she once enjoyed freely. It's really a hard period for her.
It was the D- day of another monthly clearance and as usual corp members from different location in that local government gathered again to do their capturing. Her she was ,looking very moody and growing skinny from the effect of what has happened and still happening to her.
"Hello, you seem to be deep in thought" Susan said looking at Vera who tried to put on a warm smile. "Is everything okay" she asked again. Well Susan had always admired Vera from afar but had never initiative a conversation with her for once.
She saw today as an opportunity to do so because she had observed for quite sometime that vera has not been behaving the way she use to. Vera had to open up and unburden her mind, she felt she needed someone to talk to. Her dreams have now become mere fantacies within a very short period of time..
"Oh am so sorry about this whole thing" Susan said and she tried to encourage Vera. But my PPA is the direct opposite of all you've said, Susan said. We are given free accommodation. Although my PPA seems a bit far from where we live but they still make provision for our transportation every week.
We do not bother about most of our utility bill,they take care of it, we are also given a substantial stipends every month coupled with foodstuff to augment the ones we buy for ourselves. We also get some random tips from time to time...
Really! What is the name of that your PPA once again? Vera asked. When Susan mentioned it,it rang a bell in Vera's ears, "it sounds familiar",she said. She had to carefully repeat after Susan and then finally recollected that it was the initial PPA she was sent to.
Oh she missed it! She couldn't contain her sadness.
Clearance ended that day but the thought of what she has missed never left her. It was gone and gone for good, she thought she has chosen something better, little did she know that it was a wrong choice all because of the picture she had painted in her mind before coming for service.What a big regret she had to live with throughout service year.
The end.
Written by:
@lhorgic♥️
Wow..how we hastily misjudged things.
There are alot of people like vera today. We want already made things and in a bid to get it, we miss the main things.
Thank you for sharing this story
Thanks for dropping by dear friend. Am glad you got the message. It indeed a big lesson for vera.
So true, she wanted to escape suffering but finally landed there by her own hands..
Life lesson!
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