THE OILY KAVEERA

THE OILY KAVEERA.

I was twelve and in P.6 when my mother bought for me the best pair of shoes-actually the best pair I’ve had in my entire life! Why? Because for some reason, everyone was in awe of me when I had this pair of shoes on, they literally worshipped the ground I walked on…okay that’s a little bit exaggerative but you get my point. Now these shoes made a jingle whenever I walked or even made the slightest movement I made with my feet because they had sort of a ka bell design on them. They were a rich back suede and something straight out of a Cinderella story, except I never left my shoe behind anywhere and neither did I have a Prince Charming. The clout I got from these shoes alone could guarantee me a lifetime of popularity but as fate would have it, clout eventually comes to an end and man did it end. It was a fateful morning, we were had just come from break time, and you know break time in Ugandan schools involves eating your snack out of a ‘kaveera’ and for some reason that day we had oily snacks. So your girl (me) with her jingle bell shoes pompously enters class for the after break lesson, strutting her way to her seat. I had my head high as the whole class turned heads in utter graveyard silence to observe a queen do her thing and without seeing where I was going, I stepped on an oily ‘kaveera’ and slid to my shame! There was dead silence for a second before the class burst into an ear-deafening laughter. It was in that moment that all my clout ended, the shoes got spoilt and so did my confidence. I wished the ground could open up and swallow. With the little dignity I had left in me, I stood up and got into my seat and buried that moment deep inside me never to see the light of day.

With that anecdote, allow me to shed more light on a very sensitive matter; Suicide. Did you know that the death rates from suicide in one year alone is 700,000 victims per year?! And the number isn’t going down any time from now. Sometimes it isn’t because of the victims themselves but even the very people in their lives that push them to commit suicide by the subtle things they do. For instance, a suicidal person could approach a friend or someone close and tries to open up but all to no avail and the last option is to end their pain with suicide. And that is when you will see phrases like “I wish the ground could just open up and swallow me” come alive. These suicidal victims are very delicate and deserve just a morsel of our attention.

So, as I wind down and close this laptop, what is my advice to you? My advice is this; check on that friend of yours whom you believe to be struggling with something, even if they aren’t reach out to a friend today, you never know how close they are to ending things. And should it happen that someone reaches out to you seeking help, instead of passing on condescending comments of judgement, or-like my P.6 classmates-laughing at the victim for falling so far, do listen to them and see their point of view and give advice…pray for them…but if in your heart of hearts you know you cannot help and you know for sure that you will judge them you can begin by contacting someone whom you feel can help them better or you can reach out to us at imentalug.com for free! Reach a helping hand to that person who has slipped from that oily kaveera and pick them up.

I sign off-Chloe!

About the author

Nsiima Chloe Elizabeth
Is a second year law student at Uganda Christian university. She loves to write, watch movies and find new things.
Fun fact: she was diagnosed with depression in 2021 and embarked on a recovery journey and uses what she learnt from her recovery to help others struggling with mental health.