THEY NEVER TEACH US ABOUT MONEY IN SCHOOL [PART TWO]

Yesterday on TV I came across the launch of a Sacco that allows members to make contributions using Mpesa and credit cards from anywhere in the world. Apart from finding the innovation simply interesting, it reminded me of a certain experience and how it clearly depicted how our perspectives and reactions to wealth are so different.

So it was just a normal weekday when a phone call came through for someone I will choose to call James. The person on the other end was an employee of a company James’s brother, Peter, used to work for before he retired.

During Peter’s time at the company there was an employee’s Sacco that was doing well but happened to collapse with everyone’s saving after sometime. Years later it was revived and now they were trying to get ahold of retired employees to compensate them with some sustainable amount. They didn’t have Peter’s phone number because not many people had mobile phones at the time. But they had managed to trace his brother.

So after receiving the conversation James shared the good news to Peter who now lived in the village. All he was needed to do was avail himself with a national I.D. He was expected at the offices the next day but he excused himself claiming he had to find someone to lend him bus fare that could cover the two  hour distance to and fro.

Two days later he still hadn’t made his trip to the city claiming that he had to attend to the farm first. A week passed by with excuse after excuse until he finally confessed that he had decided he did not want the money.

Still astonished by his decision, James asked why and the reply was that he did not feel like coming to the city .To cut the long story short ,the money is still at the company and Peter is still borrowing money to cover some of his family’s needs