Snowball In The Desert

The weight of the 25 litre bucket stretched my cold biceps sharply so I stopped ever so frequently to alternate lifting it between both hands. More so, carrying it up the hill, to the CLO's quarters, made my legs ache. Everywhere was lush with greenery. To my left, small houses dotted the landscape while large rocks filled my rightward side. About five paces ahead of me was 'Momo', she carried a yellow Jerry can on her head and walked briskly.
"Don't worry, you'd soon get used to fetching water." She said.
"I hope so. Erm - but it's quite stressful."
"We used to fetch water from that tap until the pump spoilt." She said pointing and then wiping off the drops of water that coursed down her face.
From the look of the sky I guessed it was barely 8 am. My day had started earlier than I anticipated.

Although my eyes were closed , I had been awake since 5 am. My mind wandered sporadically and I managed to "mind-pray" as well. Deliberately, I refused to  imagine how my day would be or how Kanturu, the village where I was posted too, would look like. Instead, I ran through the events of the previous day over and over again.

"Pam - pam - pam! Wake up! Wake up!"
Gosh! I thought this was done with in camp. The caller knocked our door ceaselessly and called out:
"please wake up, it's time for prayer
Someone unlocked the door and let in a tall, dark and slender lady.

"Good morning everyone!"
"Good morning." Some of us responded.
"Am sure some of you are surprised to see me here - aren't you?"
"Yes O! Sleep dey catch us. Abeg who you be?" One guy who I suppose was the "DJ" (remember him?) said.
"I'm the NCCF - Nigeria Christian Corpers Fellowship - sisters coordinator for this zone. I've just come to have a short devotion with you …"

We rolled out of bed and had a brief morning devotion together. Although, at first, I grumbled that my slumber was disturbed, looking back I cherish that moment because the whole day from then on ran at a frenetic pace that I could barely have a second of quiet - thank God I utilized that opportunity.

[An African proverb says that opportunity is a man with hair in front part of his head only. If you don't grab him by the hair when he approaches you, you cannot catch him when he passes you.]

After the devotion we realized there was no water available. So, I and the sisters coordinator, fondly called 'momo', took up containers and went scouting for water. We found water downhill at a well located in an ECWA church. Just as I arrived news came:
"Where are the Kanturu corpers?" the CLO asked.
"We are here O!" We responded.
"You people ought to have left for Kanturu since O. it's far and you need to get an acceptance letter and return here."
Immediately, I brushed my mouth with the well water, which was my first time doing so, and washed my face with same. I felt like a snowball in the Sahara desert, my "tush" ways were melting away rapidly. It was a survival of the fittest scenario - I had to survive too!

Hillary and I headed for the bike park and boarded a bike to Kanturu. After journeying for a while I asked the rider:
"oga when we go reach Kanturu?" Shouting so he could hear me for he was at top speed.
"E far small." He replied.

We passed through towns and villages and more towns and many more villages until we became apprehensive. Whenever we passed through a town Hillary always said something like this:
"Ooh NYSC! Why una no just post me come this town? Where una dey carry me go throwway?"
I could empathize with Hillary. But then, the journey proved interesting and I fed my eyes with all the scenery and tried to soak up the geography of the environment. We kept going - north then west then north - until finally we arrived at Kanturu. Straightway, we started looking for the signpost of the secondary school we had been posted to. I looked around and I was immediately unimpressed by what I judged to be a sleepy village. Is there water here - is there electricity - is there network here? Indeed  more lay ahead.

[Many people have argued that the NYSC should be scrapped. Although I'm not a fan of NYSC per se, I think it should not be scrapped. In just  four months of service, I've learnt so much and I believe the experience I'm gaining cannot be obtained anywhere else. Some people think that in one year they can draw closer to what their life's goal is in better ways that staying idle in the ‘back side of the desert' but I think it's good to know that life's a journey - not a destination. What do you think?]


QUOTE (Jean de la Bruyere)
"There is no road too long to the man who advances deliberately and without undue haste; there are no honors too distant to the man who prepares himself for them with patience.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Put your finger one inch away from your ear and hold it there for ten minutes; did you hear a sound? [Get the picture?]

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