Find Her

The trash man

Mr Oluwa was able to find a home tutor for his daughter. He was just not happy with the poor academic performance of Tasha. He wished Tasha was with him under his care so he could provide her the best support. But this was not possible because of his financial situations. His business was still at the maturing stage therefore he does not have the capacity to fully accommodate his children.

Mr Oluwa did not have enough money but he was determined to contribute his quota even if it means denying himself.

The home tutor happens to be a college graduate and he also resides in the village. He organized the extra classes for Tasha only on weekends because during the weekdays the time is not favourable. This means that she will not use all her weekends playing. But the teacher gives her assignment twice in the week which will also force her to learn in the evenings. And Mr Oluwa specifically instructed Tasha's mother to monitor and make sure that she learns in the evenings.

When Mr Oluwa last visited them, he bought some story books and other materials that will help her to read. So her mother's duty is to make sure that Tasha reads at least a page daily before she goes to bed.

After two month of private tutoring and learning in the evenings, Tasha's ability to read and speak fluently began to improve.

Other parents in the community also saw the need to send their children to the private school that Tasha attends. They began to make the necessary enquiries.

Mr Oluwa had a quick job he needs to execute to make some extra money. It was a construction work in another community which was not far from where Tasha school. So he thought of paying her a visit after he was done with his work. He did not inform Tasha neither did he inform her mother. He wanted it to be a surprise.

The day for the job was due and he left home with other workers and the contractors to the sight very early in the morning. He and some other workers finished their shift by afternoon whiles others were yet to finish. So he thought it was a good time to go visit his daughter since the distance was not that far. He was sure to be back before the others finish their work.

He finally arrived at the school and fortunately the students were on lunch break when he got there so he did not have to interrupt Tasha's learning hours. He was ushered in by the man guarding the gate and led to the teachers office.

He then introduced himself to the teachers and asked to see his daughter. Tasha was called into the teachers office immediately. Her countenance changed when she heard her name through the school announcement siren to get to the office. She was met with fear because she did not know why she was called to the office. The office was full of teachers and going there means she had done something wrong that needs to be querried. She still could not wrap her head around what she might have done wrong and that even made her more anxious. All the students were staring at her when they heard her name through the announcer. She became so nervous and almost missed her steps. What could be the problem; she thought to herself.

She entered the office and greeted the teachers. And was allowed to see her dad. She was all full of smiles when she saw her dad. But for a second she almost could not recognize him because of his appearance. He was in a construction attire and definitely full of dust. She had never seen her father in that state before and almost mistook him for someone else. She was really excited and surprised by her dad's visit.

Mr Oluwa asked to see her class teacher and make some enquiries. Ms Ruth was Tasha's class teacher and she had a discussion with her father. She talked about Tasha's performance which needs improvement and the fact that she seems all left out during lunch break. He was grateful for the teacher's concern and promised to do something about it. He promised to either send the teacher some money through someone or when he next visits. So that her teacher could keep it for Tasha and also use it to buy something from the canteen for her when needed. He was not able to give Ms Ruth any money immediately for that purpose because he did not have enough money with him.

He entered the canteen to buy some ice cream and sweets for Tasha because this was her most important wish. When he entered the canteen, the students were all staring at him as if he was an alien. They were staring because of Mr Oluwa's attire.

They could tell he was a stranger and they mistook him for a newly employed cleaner or the man you comes to pick the trash after school. The students treated him rudely and did not want him closer to them as he queued to buy the sweets for his daughter. Tasha was the one accompanying her dad and the students were curious to find out if it was just a coincidence that the man was walking with Tasha or he was a relative. Even before Mr Oluwa was allowed into the school the man guarding the gate hesitated before letting him in. He could not tell whether he was just a stranger passing by or the new trash man.

Abena overhead her teacher, Ms Ruth telling other teachers that the man was Tasha's father and that he just paid her a visit as he was working on a project not far from the school. When Abena heard this, she quickly went to inform her friends that, the man was Tasha"s father.

They could not believe it but burst into laughter in front of Mr Oluwa.

Tasha felt very embarrassed that her friends could call her beloved father a trash man.

Abena and her friends despised Mr Oluwa because he appeared dirty and poor. Mr Oluwa was really disappointed in the attitude of the students but he did not report them to their teachers. He encouraged his daughter to ignore the mocking of her mates.

Mr Oluwa bought some extra sweets for Tasha to give to her siblings back home and he left to join his colleagues at the work site since he suspects they might be waiting for him.

Lunch break was over and the students returned to their various classrooms. Her classmates could not stop but made fun of Tasha over her dad's appearance. They called her dad all sort of names and made fun of him. Tasha was not happy with what her friends were saying about her father and wished to give them heavy punches if she had the chance.

Tasha got home with mixed feelings. A feeling of happiness that she was able to have ice cream and sweets in the canteen and a feeling of sadness as some of her mates mocked she and her dad. She told her mother how she got a surprise visit from her dad and also gave her siblings the rest of the sweets that was meant for them. She did not tell her mother about what the students did to them.

Mr Oluwa got home really exhausted, his feet hurt so much. He removed his working boots to relax a bit in the chair before taking his bath. As he sat down he tried to recollect all that happened during the day. He was really shocked at how mean the students were and wondered what her daughter might have been going through.

He felt his daughter might be traumatized if this was the sort of environment she found herself. He knows her daughter gets intimidated by the least thing so he can imagine how much she had already suffered. He promised to report the case at the next Parents and Teachers meeting.

There was a new girl that was transferred to the school and she was in Tasha's class. She also looked a bit older and might be in the same age range with Tasha. At last the class has got a new person that they will pick on and leave me alone, Tasha thought to herself. She had been feeling so uncomfortable ever since she stepped foot into that school. She was happy to be transferred into a private school but little did she know that it would become her nightmare. She had become a push over for her mates even though she is the eldest in the class. Her biggest problem was her inability to perform well in her academics and also speak English fluently. She said; ''if only i could do better with my academics all these will be over".

Tasha became friends with the newly transferred student, Joan. This made her happy because she finally has a friend in the class. It has been a month since she become friends with Joan and she seems to be loving this new friendship.

Tasha's home tutor has been doing his best for her. He realized that Tasha's low academic performance is also linked to her low self esteem. The home tuition was being organized for only Tasha but she still found it difficult to ask questions or express herself. And the teacher noticed this behavior and wondered how he can help her change that. When a question is asked, even if she knows that answer, she was not willing to give a response for the fear of being mocked. Even though her home tutor had assured her many times to give it a try and speak her mind, she was still unable to do so.

Even though she was still facing challenges with being confident, her reading ability was getting better and she was constant with learning in the evenings.

Some parents in Agasa decided to enroll their children in the same school with Tasha. This was because the academic performance of the public school in the village was becoming poorer and poorer each academic year and this made the parents worried. Three of the children in Agasa got enrolled in the private school and at least this made Tasha happy to have familiar faces in the school.

The inhumane treatment that was meted out to Tasha seems not to accompany Joan. Tasha realized that her mates did not pick on Joan the way they did to her. Joan was rather able to have a certain control over most of their mates. Joan comes from a well to do home. They lived in the city but later relocated to the town of Akati which happens to be their hometown where she currently schooled. They relocated because her father's business run into a lot of debt. This made the business to fold up. Therefore they relocated to their hometown to start all over with the rest of their resources. Joan was previously enrolled in one of the top notched schools in the city. But since the collapse of her father's businesses, they could not afford the school fees and she had to drop out.

She still stayed with her mother's sister in the city whiles her parents tried to gather resources and put their lives back on track. Things became very difficult for her family of which her parents saw that living in their hometown was not sustainable. They also feared what others might say about them since their wealth had depleted and poverty was staring at them. If they stay in their hometown they will be mocked but they cannot also stay in the city because their creditors were chasing them.

They left their only daughter with her aunty and traveled to another city where no one knows them. They then tried their hands on different businesses in order to make money and relocate to their hometown and build their lives there.

Whiles they traveled, Joan was with her aunty. Her aunty, Mrs Apah was not wealthy like her parents. She was a simple woman living in a small apartment with her husband and three children. They did not earn so much from their work. She was a trader in the market whiles her husband was a police officer.

So Joan coming to stay with them, was some sort of extra burden but since they are relatives, Mrs Apah had to take her in and look after her.

It was a difficult moment for Joan because she had to get used to this new life. Her privileges were no longer there. All that she used to enjoy were all gone. She now sleeps on a mat in the hall every night unlike the separate room she had with her parents. She cried almost every night until she was used to her new condition. She eats twice daily unlike the three square meals plus snack that she gets previously.

Her life was upside down, she barely even goes to school. She was enrolled in a community school not far from their house but she hardly attends classes. Either she is being sent out for school fees, book or one thing or the other. Life was really tough for her. And all these while she had not heard from her parents. This even made her more traumatized because she was unable to tell whatever they were still alive or dead. And none of their relatives too knows their whereabout.

Usually on weekends, Joan had to help her aunty sell at the market. This was the lowest her life was brought too, she thought. And her cousins were really mean to her. They were older than her so they abused her. She does all the house chores whiles they go out to play. She really suffered in the hands of her cousins.

Mrs Apah was not aware of what her children were doing to their cousin Joan because she leaves the house very early in the morning and comes back very late in the evening. She stayed with her aunty for almost two years.

Joan's parents finally resurfaced after the two years. She was extremely happy to see them again. Mrs Apah was equally happy to see her sister and daughter because she thought they will never meet again because for two years, nobody has heard of them. Joan's parents were not able to make the money which they used to make but at least they were able to get something that was good enough for them to start over and rebuild.

They know the money that was made was not enough to sustain them in the city so they thought of relocating to their hometown which will be more easier and more affordable.

They left for their hometown in order to make the necessary preparations.

They did not take Joan with them and promised to come for her when they finally settle in their hometown.

Joan was broken hearted because she will still not have the chance to reunite with her parents.

Few weeks later, Joan's parents were able to put up a huge shop in the village and commenced business. They went and brought their daughter with them. It was a big relief for Joan because of what she had suffered. So two months after they got back to Akati they enrolled Joan in the only private school that was available in the town. Life in their hometown was not that pleasant compared to what they used to enjoy but it was far better than what they went through after they lost their business. It was a bit comfortable and better than the experience Joan had when staying with her aunty.

Joan was once a proud and arrogant girl just like Abena in her current school. She and her friends always picked on the weaker students and made fun of them. She was such a bully. She had a driver who drove her to school and everything was comfortably provided by her parents and she lacked nothing.

But the experience she had after her family lost everything had made her very humble. The luxurious life that she was living disappeared and she become even worse than the poorest in her school. This had taught her a great lesson in life that no condition is permanent and now appreciates life and the little things she had.

Joan was a beautiful girl, very eloquent and even speaks a foreign language, French. She was also academically good. They had the best teachers at school and also had a good home tutor so she had no reason to fail. She was an only child to her parents therefore all that she needed was provided. She lived in the city and went to the most beautiful places, had the best entertainment, ate at the best restaurants. Her parents had good cars that were in vogue. Therefore at a young age she had seen it all and experienced the best of life.

She was not only Eloquent with the English and French language but she also partook in competitions both in her school and in the city. So these things had boosted her confidence and made her a force to reckon with.

Joan was fair in complexion but due to the struggling life she went through whiles staying with her aunty, her complexion changed. The once fair young girl now had a darker complexion. But since she joined her parents back at Akati their hometown, things began to normalise and her skin was clearer than before.

So even though Joan was a newly transferred girl to the school, she was not a push over. She was not the type that you can abuse and bully. She was someone who once lived in luxury and had been to the best school. Her parents may have lost their business, they may have a lower life than what they once had, they may not be as rich as how they were but she had not lost her voice, neither had she lost her self confidence. Therefore she would not allow any student to trample upon her rights. Even though she was a new student, she seemed to be on top of affairs in the class. She was still brilliant and eloquent and most of her teachers began to really like her.

Joan was just a week old in her new school but was able to adapt to how things work. Tasha was really shocked at how Joan easily adapted. She wished it was same with her.

The other parents at Agasa who also enrolled their children in the school left them in the care of Tasha because she was the eldest. She always made sure they board the bus when school was over and none of them was left behind.

A month later Tasha fell severely ill and was not able to go to school. Her temperature was really high, she had sever stomach ache and was vomiting. Her mother could not phantom what was wrong with her because she was healthy the previous day. Ms Betty thought to herself; what if she was pregnant! Fear griped her because she noticed her daughter was looking fatigued for sometime now. She hoped and prayed it was not true because she tried her best to keep her away from the boys in her neighborhood.

Teenage pregnancy was a common phenomenon in the village. Most of the young boys and girls in the village cared less about education. They just roamed the village aimlessly and their parents were not able to control them. Most of the girls dropped out of school due to pregnancy. This has made Ms Betty more afraid because she cannot imagine her daughter getting pregnant and also dropping out of school. And what will she tell the father of her children, she laments quietly.

The looked for some medicines in the first aid box and asked Tasha to take them. She took them and after some few hours, she was a bit relieved and was able to sleep. She was unable to sleep the previous night due to the pain in her stomach.

In the evening, her mother fed her with porridge but she could not take it and rather opted for soup. At least she was able to drink a little of it.

The following morning, she was not feeling any better. The pain was getting worse so her mother decided to rush her to the clinic that serves about five villages. It was about two kilometers away from Agasa. Thankfully Mr Boku who was Tasha's step dad did not go to work so he was around. And as a driver, he drove Tasha and her mother to the hospital.

She was immediately admitted. Ms Betty was wondering, if her daughter was pregnant, then who was responsible for the pregnancy? She began to suspect Tasha's home tutor.

There was no doctor available at the clinic, only nurses. They quickly administered some drips on her and some other medications. This was able to stabilize her situation and she fell asleep.

Ms Betty asked that the nurses conduct a pregnancy test on her daughter of which they obliged.

The test result came out and it was negative. Ms Betty jumped for joy and was relieved.