Letter to my fellow youth: Samuel shares some of the lessons he learnt amid Covid-19 pandemic – Rwanda We Want

Letter to my fellow youth: Samuel shares some of the lessons he learnt amid Covid-19 pandemic

Dear friend,

With the way I try to be optimistic in every situation, I would tell you that it was okay, that everything is going to be alright, but it wasn’t and it’s not.

All that pandemic and lockdown surpassed everything I have ever imagined or even dreamt in my worst nightmare. The whole situation hit us hard mentally, physically and financially. At the beginning, I even thought that we would never set foot outside of our homes again.

That new job we were celebrating for- the last time we were together, it’s all gone. The “21st century” saloon couldn’t recover from such a blow.

But one thing is for sure, sitting back and complain about the situation wasn’t going to resolve anything, furthermore overthinking only brought horrific scenarios so I had to adapt to the changes and find something to do to beat the boredom and all that mental distress of overthinking. So, because my parents are farmers and their line of work was among the few allowed to resume activities during the lockdown period, I decided to join them.

I began cultivating carrots and pepper which I’m now liking and you’re not going to believe me when I say this but I’m considering being a farmer for the rest of my life.

I would keep going but let me save the rest of the stories for when you will visit me.

My take on this whole situation? I never thought that a barber would become a farmer, and I noticed that flexibility and adaptability is key to living a happy life, for it allows you to turn delicate situation into business-as-usual situations and not panic which helps one to think about the situation calmly and generate solution. Another thing is the power of having a saving account. My throat went dry some days at the beginning of the lockdown and with all the time I had cut hair for people, I couldn’t even buy a drink.

I hope you stay safe and sanitize a lot; we shall meet when this will all be over soon.

Your friend,

Samuel Byiringiro

Samuel Byiringiro is a 21 year-old high-school graduate and Rulindo resident who was one of Rwanda We Want organization beneficiaries at E.S Gasiza.

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