CREATE SPACE

CREATE SPACE

Tiwatope and her family lived in one of the worst slums in Lagos. The houses in the community they lived in could at best, be described as shanties; roughly built cabins put together with pieces of wood and metal. 

It wasn't unusual to see teenage girls carrying kids tied around their backs with wrappers and young boys with trousers hanging beneath their waists, cigar hung on their lips, blaring music from jam boxes. 

When these boys gathered together in the evening, the area they camped at always looked like a chimney belching clouds of smoke from afar. The entire area reeked of poverty, juvenile delinquency and moral decadence. 

An unfortunate twist of fate had seen Tiwatope's family moved to this slum. A wild fire that started a couple of blocks away had caught up with theirs. The apartments were built so close it didn't take time for the fire to spread across other blocks, burning down their entire possessions. All of sudden, they were rendered homeless with nothing to fall back on. No bank balance to start rebuilding with. No social ties to fall back on. Unfortunately, no job to bank on. Tiwa's parents had both lost their jobs and were using a small provision business to keep body and soul together. The stock of the provision business were usually laid out on a table at day and returned inside the house at night. But the fire didn't even spare the stock. Everything was burnt. 

Hearing of the unfortunate incident, compassion poured from all angles. But much of this compassion was mere commiseration. The usual, Eya, sorry o. Ọlọrun wà pẹlu rẹ. Very few people actually dipped hands into their pockets to help salvage their situation. It was funds gathered from the aid provided by these few that gave them enough money to set up a shanty at the slum they lived in. 

Since she heard of the wild fire and the predicament that had befallen them, Toyosi, Tiwa's mom's best friend hasn't relented in providing help to the family whenever she could. She even took the responsibility of Tiwa's school fees. 

Few months after they relocated to the slums, another disaster hit. A huge flood washed across the entire area and wrecked the shanty settlements, carting belongings away. With nothing left except the clothes on their backs, Tiwatope's parents decided it was time to return to the village. Maybe it was their fate in life to meet misfortune. Or so they thought. 

Before they left, they asked Toyosi for a favor. If Tiwa could live with them and serve them as house help while continuing her education. Toyosi agreed, and Tiwa's parents left for the village. 

But instead of treating her like a maid, Toyosi treated Tiwa like she was her biological child. Giving her the same treatment she gave her kids. 

As fate would have it, Tiwa blossomed under that atmosphere and her potential began to shine like a million stars. First, she won a science competition that put her on a scholarship for her entire senior secondary education. By the time she sat for the West African Examination Council Examinations, she emerged best in the state and attracted the attention of a number of philanthropists. Before long, she had scholarship offers to study in the UK, Canada and Australia. 

In the end, she opted for the UK and was admitted into one of the finest universities in the country on a scholarship funded by a foundation run by one of the richest men in Lagos. 

Four years later, Tiwa graduated from the university and found work with one of the best finance firms in London. Moved into her own apartment and moved her parents from the village to one of the finest cities in the world. 

A year after her parents moved to the UK to live with her, she sponsored the immigration of Toyosi's kids. All of them. And had Toyosi spend vacations with them in London. 

You see, a little act of kindness from you can be the force that pushes someone into their destiny. And since we get out of life what we give in, you most likely won't miss out on the reward that kindness bestows. Like Toyosi, you might reap way more than you sow. A harvest so huge that it extends to your kids.

Always remember, you hold the key to someone else's happiness. Stand up for others even when they do not expect it. Create room for others even when it seems you need space yourself. When you create space for others, you expand your capacity and you sow seeds that you and your kids will reap for years to come. 

Story: Bolaji Seyi

Images: Pixabay.com