THAT AWKWARD MOMENT #24 - "IN THE BELLY OF HOPE"
Hello Steemians, how has been your week? It's the 24th episode of That Awkward Moment Series today and I hope you ain't discouraged with the fall in the price of steem. Steemit is not all about the Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies alone like I always state, there are situations in the real world that is worth thousands of attention too. Therefore, each episode "AMS" has been both fictional and non-fictional illustration of these happenings around us and if you have missed some of the past episodes, kindly click on the image-links below;
"IN THE BELLY OF HOPE"
HOPE is but a four letter word! Yet it's one of the hardest and the most scarce attribute on the planet.To hope is to believe in the unknown, no religion would train you to hope; it is a willful act!
Ndefi is an Immigrant on the run, he had entered Europe through Morroco thirteen months away and had been living like a ghost ever since. He was one of those that fled Africa during the conflicts that claimed millions of lives and thousands mutilated. He had fled with his siblings from Western Africa,
the three siblings never made it out of the North African country with him; so he has a huge responsibility to provide for his family even with his unsettled living as a refugee
Ndefi had been working odd jobs in those 13months since he entered the European Capital, he spent his first seven months on a large plantation farm working in exchange for food and shelter. As an Africa Bull spirit, he was extremely hardworking which made his patrons grew fond of him. From the Horse stables where he and a dozen more immigrants were sheltered, he was given a bed in the main workers lodge on the farm and gets paid sometimes by his master. His Master's wife had pressurized her husband to put him on payroll no matter how small for his dedication and resilience.
By the fifth month, he had picked some little English up. He has been following the farm truck to the market to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables, this had made the local farmers at the market and in the surrounding farms get familiar with his face before the end of the sixth month.
Strangely, Ndefi had never bought new clothes nor shoes like his co-workers and fellow immigrants, during his first winter he wore the old winter jacket his master wife had given him with uttermost care and maintenance. This had raised more eyebrows as to why this hard working man wears the same clothing for over six months and still counting; but nobody knows his pains nor his plans, his agony about his siblings who never made it out with him and his plan to reunite with them as soon as possible.
He carried all his earnings around everywhere he goes and whenever he gets a tip from the market he gives to his master who returns it back with an additional tip to him. He had garnered more trust from his master and the master's wife had been inviting him along to the church. At every church task, Ndefi stands out with his hard work; slow and steady his reputation increased in the large farming community. By the eighth month, he was among those nominated to go into the Metropolis and help with missionary works.
By now he could speak basic English, always smiling whenever he doesn't understand what is been said to him. Just a little over his ninth month in the city at the mission house, some Non-Governmental organization had taken a keen interest in Ndefi; the man with the same sets of clothes but with a hard-working mentality and commitments.It was very easy decision for the church to let him go and a real paying job when the organization contacted them.
During his interview process back at the Organization HQ, Ndefi was asked why he never changed his old clothes; he bursted into tears as the interpreter asked him and from his explanation, the interpreter relayed to his employers that Ndefi had taken "a vow not to have any luxury" until he is reunited with his family. The response was too overwhelming for the interviewing crew, the ladies had their faces soaked in tears while the men tried to remain calm see the interview process through.
The company took him shopping, gave him a clean shave and began a refugee plan to bring Ndefi's family into the country. For another nine months, the search and means of communication with his siblings was established; his happiness somewhat restored.
By the end of the following year, Ndefi's two brothers and sister were reunited with him. At the airport upon receiving them; he knelt down screaming in his Native language "I was in the Belly of Hope for almost three years andIi survived!"
FOLLOW-UPVOTE-RESTEEM AND MAYBE DROP A SUPPORTING OR CONTRARY COMMENT.....It's your friendly Neighbor @oluwoleolaide for Steem-Lagos-Nigeria-Africa-World!
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Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
Hope gives us the derive to keep living, a four letter word like you rightly said, but a powerful tool of life.
God actually answered Ndefi prayer. Hope is believe in the unknown according to the above definition. It's a good thing to be hopeful and keep trusting in God that a day is coming when table will actually turn. Thanks for this wonderful piece.
Odaaro
Another great one @oluwoleolaide. Hope is something we need to have everyday, it helps us do better, be wiser and strive harder.