mvictorfreelancing
Interested in inspirational articles that are non political
Friday 21 November 2014
TAKING YOURSELF TO THE NEXT LEVEL FIRST BEFORE OTHERS CAN LEND YOU A HAND
Most Young Entrepreneurs in Uganda (between 19 and 30)still have one major problem. Expecting someone to pick you up from ground ZERO. It's just not logical these days though a few have been lucky and a few will be. However, the advise for is that, you have to take yourself to the next level and make those investors come to you. Not you begging them.
Wednesday 29 October 2014
30 becoming the New 18 age for testing the World in Uganda
I HAVE
NO IDEA WHO WROTE THIS BUT IT'S INTERESTING TO READ AND FOOD FOR
THOUGHT, FROM A RIGHT THINKING UGANDAN.
Friends,
Let me add the benefit of my time as a
student and then resident in the UK-
and I live in Kampala
now. The first thing that I discovered about UK-born, white, English
undergraduates were that all of them did holiday or weekend job to support
themselves including children of millionaires amongst them. It is the norm over
there regardless how wealthy their parents are. And I soon discovered that
virtually all the other foreign students did the same- the exception being
those of us status-conscious Ugandans.
I also watched Richard Branson (owner of
Virgin Airline) speaking on the Biography Channel and, to my amazement, he said
that his young children travel in the economy class-even when the parent (he
and his wife) are in upper class, Richard Branson is a billionaire in pound
sterling. A quick survey would show you that only children in Uganda fly business or upper class to commence
their studies in the UK.
No other foreign students do this. There is no aircraft attached to the office
of the prime minister in the UK-
he travels on BA. And the same goes for Royals. The Queen does not have an
aircraft for her exclusive use.
These practices simply become the culture
which the next generation carries forward. But there’s one core difference them
and us (generally speaking). They (even the billionaires among them) work for
their money, we steal ours!
If we want our children to bring about
the desired change we have been praying for on behalf of our dear country, then
please, please let’s begin now and teach them to work hard so that they can
alone and most importantly be content, and not having to “steal” which seems to
be the norm these days.
“30 is the new 18”, which seems the new
age for testing out the world in Uganda now. That seems to be an
unspoken but widely accepted mind set among the last two generations of parents
in Uganda.
At age 18 years, a typical young adult in
the UK leaves the clutches of his/her for the University, chances are, that’s
the last time those parents will ever play “landlord” to their son or daughter
except of course the occasional home visit during the academic year.
At 21 years and above or below, the now
fully grown and independent minded adult graduates from University, searches
for employment, gets a job and shares a flat with other young people on a
journey into becoming fully fledged adults.
I can hear the echo of parents saying,
well, that is because the UK
economy is thriving, safe, well-structured and jobs are everywhere? I beg to
differ and I ask that you kindly hear me out .I am UK
trained Recruitment Consultant and I have been practicing for the past 10 years
in Uganda.
I have a broad range of experience from recruiting graduates to executive
director level of large corporations. In addition, I talk from the point of
view of someone with relatively privileged upbringing.
Driven to school every day, had my
clothes washed for me, was barred from taking any part time job during my A
–level so that I could concentrate on studying for my exams! BUT, I got the
opportunity to live apart from my parents from age 18 and the only time I came
back home to stay was for three months before I got married!
Am I saying that every parent should wash
their hands off their children at age 18? No, not at all, of course, I enjoyed
the savings that I made from living on and off at my parent’s house in London-
indeed that is the primary reason for my being able to buy myself a 3 bedroom
flat in London at age 25 with absolutely no direct financial help from my
parents!
For me, pocket money stopped at age 22,
not that it was ever enough for my lifestyle to compete with Paris Hilton’s or
Victoria Beckham’s. Meanwhile today, we have Ugandan children who never worked
for 5 minutes in their lives insisting on flying “only” first or business
class, carrying the latest Louis Vuitton ensemble, Victoria’s secret underwear and wearing
Jimmy Choo’s, fully paid for by their “loving” parents.
I often get calls from anxious parents,
my son graduated 2 years ago and is stilling looking for a job, and can you
please assist! Oh really! So where exactly is this “child” is my usual
question. Why are you the one making this call dad/mum?
I am yet to get a satisfactory answer,
but between you and me, chances are that big boy is cruising around Kampala with a babe
dressed to nines, in his dad’s spanking new SUV with enough “packet money” to
put your salary to shame. It is not all strange to have a 28 year old who has
NEVER worked for a day in his or her life in Uganda but “earns” a six figure
“salary” from parents for doing absolutely nothing.
I see them in my office once in a while,
26 years old with absolutely on skills to sell apart from a shiny CV, written
by his dad’s secretary in the office. Of course, he has a driver at his beck
and call and he is driven to the job interview.
We have a fairly decent conversation and
we get to the inevitable question-so, what salary are you looking to earn?
Answer comes straight out UGX 2000000. I asked if that is per month or per
annum.
Of course is per month. Oh, why do you
think you should be earning that much on your first job?
Well because my current packet money is
UGX 1,000,000 and I feel that an employer should be able to pay me more than my
parents.
I try very hard to compose myself, over
the parenting in my opinion, as the greatest evil handicapping the Ugandan
youth. It is at the root of our national malaise.
We have a youth population of tens of
millions of who are being “breastfed and diapered” well into their 30s. WAKE UP MUM! WAKE UP DAD! You practically love your children to death!
No wonder corruption continues to thrive. We have a society of young people who
have been brought up to expect something for nothing, as if it were a birth
right.
I want to encourage you to send young men
and women (anyone over 20 can hardly be called a child!) out into the world,
maybe even consider reducing or stopping the pocket money to encourage them to
think, explore and strive. Let them know that, it is possible for them to
succeed without your “help”
Take a moment to think back to your own
time as a young man/woman, what if someone had kept spoon feeding you, would
you be where you are today? No tree grows well under another tree, children
that are not exposed to challenges, don’t cook well.
That is why you see adults complaining,
“My parents didn’t buy clothes for me this Christmas”, ask him/her how old they
are? 30+. Because of the
challenges we faced in our youth, we are where and what we are today, this
syndrome-my children will not suffer what I suffered is destroying our
tomorrow.
Deliberately reduce their allowance or
mum-don’t cook on Saturday till late afternoon or evening do as occasion
deserve.
Anyone who keeps learning stays young.
The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young-(Henry Ford). Hard work
does not kill; everything in Uganda
is going down, including family settings. It is time to rebrand our children,
preparing them for tomorrow. We are approaching the season in Uganda where
only the RUGGED, will survive. How will your ward fare?
If the present generations of Ugandan
pilots retire, will you fly a plane flown by a young Ugandan pilot, if trained
in Uganda?
People now fly first class, who cannot spell GRADUATE or read an article
without bomb blast! Which way Uganda!,
which way Uganda!
Is this how we will ALL sit and watch
this country SINK?
Please share this with as many parents
and colleagues as you know.
Regards,
Tuesday 14 October 2014
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