"Ka Pay Me, Tor ni ma Tor"

       On 14th March 2020, we were told that our President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo would address the nation on 15th March 2020. We heard rumors that there might be a lockdown in the country. I prayed that no one had contracted COVID-19, but I also hoped for a lockdown despite knowing full well that we would only have a lockdown if there were a few COVID-19 19 cases (Real definition of dilemma). Let me tell you why I was hoping for a lockdown. From 16th to 20th March, it was going to be so hectic, and I genuinely did not believe I would survive it. In that week, I had three mid-semester exams to write (I had not yet studied for any of them), three assignments to submit (I was not even close to finishing), and at that time, our provisions were finished, which meant I had to do all these with on an empty stomach (Anytime our provisions got finished, we ate only in the evenings around 7 p.m.). From 14th March to 15th March felt like an eternity to me.

  15th March, 8 p.m. finally came. A friend at the hostel had a small television at that time, so we all gathered to watch what the President would say. We were all glued to the television as if it was a World Cup final penalty shootout. When he announced that there would be a lockdown, there was a loud shout of Joy in the room. I remember sitting on the ground saying, "Lord, Thank You". My boys knew how much this news meant to me. They told me, "Gabriel, you can now relax; your wish has come to pass." They knew that the big brother they looked up to, the guy who always seemed so strong, was on the verge of breaking down.

  My school decided to complete the semester online because it was unclear when the lockdown would end. All our tests and examinations were written online, which was much more manageable. We anticipated returning to school in September or October (I was sick of staying home then), but that didn't happen. Our President announced that all Universities would resume in January. After hearing the news, I informed my family that I would like to find something to do and asked them to let me know if they heard anything. The next day, my Dad told me a Church Member was building a Pharmacy. If I were interested, he would introduce me to the Foreman so that I could work as a Labourer. I expressed interest to my father. My father sent me to the job site the following day, where I met the Foreman. He asked whether I had taken in some food because I could not do this work on an empty stomach. I immediately bought some porridge due to this council. This advice prompted me to get some porridge right away.

  I remember the Foreman introducing me to the other workers. They were really friendly. The Foreman told them to be gentle with me because I was new to this. I was in charge of transporting materials like sand, cement, and water. The mortar was prepared and blended by the specialists. I assisted in distributing the mortar to the masons after it had been mixed. After my first day, the Foreman asked the others about my performance. They informed him I was very hardworking and, therefore, it was quite easy and enjoyable to work with me.

  I assumed we would be paid around 30 to 40 cedis a day. After the day's work, everyone washed their hands and legs and waited for the Foreman to pay. He gave me 80 cedis and told me that when we worked with concrete (sand, cement, stones, and water), our wage was 80 cedis, but when we worked with mortar (cement, water, and sand), our wages were 70 cedis (The masons were being paid 120 cedis). I was soo excited. I just couldn't believe that after working six days a week, I'd have more than 400 cedis in my pocket. I couldn't wait to go to work the next day. As a young hustler, four hundred cedis at that time was a lot of money (it still is, by the way; I'm still a young hustler). I was anxious to go to work the next day because I wanted to wrap up another 70-80 cedis. I assumed construction workers weren't paid that much because their appearance never looked like it. My mistake was that I was judging a book by its cover. We all tend to do that.

  I first heard the song "Ka Pay Me erh, Tor ni Ma Tor" on my third day at the Construction Site. I understood the song's lyrics because it was sung in my local dialect. I, however, did not understand why that song existed. At first, I thought it was a joke, but after working with them for a while, I realized some spent their daily wages on alcohol. Some also used all their money on betting. One day, while washing the sand and cement off our bodies, I heard a Mason asking someone on the phone to place a bet of 80 cedis for him and that he was about to get paid. I couldn't believe he was ready to spend more than 70 percent of his daily wage on a bet.

  We live in a world where all risks are accepted and taken as wise, provided they yield results. For example, if a friend jumps out of an airplane without a parachute and ends up on the ground, uninjured, would you be angry with the friend for making such an unwise decision, or would you applaud that friend for the action? Well, most people would celebrate the individual rather than caution him/her.

  Working on the construction site with these individuals taught me two important lessons: A man with a financial plan can utilize $1,000,000 in 30 years, whereas a man without a plan can use the same sum in 30 days. The second lesson I learned was never to take things like food, shelter, and other necessities for granted.

Let's talk about the first lesson. Most construction workers had no financial plans for their daily wages, so they never valued the money. I remember telling them in a conversation that I wanted to save 2000 Ghana cedis while working with them for two months. They made fun of me, told me to quit dreaming, and said it was impossible. They never realized that each person would have had at least three thousand Ghana cedis in their accounts at the end of those two months. Their way of living blinded them to the fact that they were making good money. Remember, It is not the money you receive that is important; it is the usage of that money that matters.

With the second lesson, I realized that some people genuinely wanted to save their money but had to worry about bills constantly for themselves and their loved ones. A daily wage of 100 cedis might be a lot, but if you cater for food, water, electricity, and rent for yourself and three other people, it would not be easy to save some money. I must admit I found it easy to save because I did not pay any of such bills, and also, I did not have to buy a lot of food with my daily wage because I knew my Mom would have prepared a sumptuous, delicious meal in the evening. Some of them were always in debt, which meant all their money went into paying those debts.

  Two weeks into building the pharmacy, our Foreman informed us that a location needed to be cleaned, so around 3 pm, he would pick one or two people to the place to clean the place up. It was to be a rotation. That meant on the day you were chosen, you would work at the site from 8 am to 3 pm and then clean the place from 3 pm to 6 pm and would still be paid as much as those who worked at the site all day. I remember it was my turn on the third day. The place looked like a warehouse. It was incredibly dusty because they had just finished renovating the area. Additionally, the area had recently been painted, leaving paint droplets stuck to the tiled floor (the hardest aspect of the work). Although I knew it would be challenging to clean the place, I made a commitment to do everything in my power to make it appear spotless. The site workers, you know, were overjoyed when the Foreman spelled out this plan because they believed that on the day they were selected, all they had to do was sweep up the area and dust a few things. We were all given portions to clean. On the day I was chosen, I knelt and used sandpaper to carefully scrape out all the paint droplets. After that, I swept and mopped the place. The workers who went before me finished around 4:30 pm, but I was still cleaning the place around 6:30 pm. Most of them wondered why I had taken that long. Some felt I was doing too much and that all that wasn't necessary. Well, what I did saved me. 

It got to a time when the Foreman did not have projects for his workers (I think it was the 6th or 7th week), so everyone had to sit at home for a while, but I didn't. The Foreman told me he had places for me to clean, so I should still come to work. I was sooo happy. On my way home, I kept telling myself, "Thank God I took the cleaning seriously." Because of my attitude towards work, he really liked me. In fact, on my last day at the construction site, he gave me some extra money to bid me farewell.

  The location of the pharmacy was close to my home. The Foreman got some projects quite far from home, so we had to stay there; I'll share those experiences in the next story. Don't forget to share the link.