Three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, job losses in the hundreds of thousands locally and millions elsewhere around the globe, people are struggling to meet their daily needs. Rent, utility bills, food, and other basic needs are demanding of an ever diminishing payslip.
Around the world, people are doing a bunch of things to get by. Some competent governments are doing their best to provide relief food to those who cannot afford it and it is absolutely strange seeing people in expensive German vehicles rolling up for the food.
You sit back and wonder, are our economic situations that fragile? Are people surviving on credit just to put out an image of opulence or what the hell is going on?
Closer home, things are not quite as bad as what you see around the world. Here the cost of living is not as high, especially in the countryside. However, the closer you get to the cities the higher the cost of living.
It is in these particular places that people have been hit hard. Losing your job while renting out in the many expensive gated communities is feels like a life sentence.
There is no guarantee of work even post COVID considering that the global economy was already declining. The economy was already shrinking and job losses have only been accelerated by the current pandemic.
Nevertheless, people are resilient.
What you will witness on the road is a genuine marvel. You will spot tens of vehicles lined up along the shoulder of the road with their boots open.
No! This is not your usual boot sale.
People are lined up in their vehicles selling vegetables, fruits, and potatoes straight from the boot of their vehicles. This were the same individuals who would wake up at 5 AM to beat the traffic into town while getting to work.
These are the same individuals who probably never thought in their wildest dreams that they would ever wrap an apron around their waist and brave the elements just to get by.
It is a humbling experience but I choose not to look at it that way.
Instead, what you should see is people who are humble enough to suppress their ego and put their hands to work. They may not even be struggling for money, some of them, but this is an excellent opportunity for an entrepreneur to establish a fresh income stream.
Regardless of whether you were a lawyer, a manager, or any other white-collar job title, money is money.
Those that survive are those people who readily adapt to their changing circumstances.
Not everybody is blessed with the same conditions, but you can always do the best you can with the tools at your disposal and be proud of it.
These are crazy times.
I wonder what else people around the world are doing to get by.