Did You Hawk Anything On The Streets As A Child ?

Pervert9,

That wasnt funny

very funny post - "Ice water tutu re" 

Gods mercy met His goodness to deliver some of us so we cannot afford arrogance cos we have nothing that has not been generously given by the great provider for all mankind.

Reading through this thread reminds me of my childhood experiences. Im constrained by time and space to compress the stuffs I hawked and the circumstances surrounding those experiences.

In a brief recap, I started hawking from pry 4 (1991) and had to stop in SS3(1999) when I became the assistant senior prefect in my school. I hawked all kinds of stuffs ranging from Orange, Tangerine, guava, cooked corn in the rain, apple, pineapple and all sorts of fruits and food stuffs that I cant but stop mentioning. Those were days when the family eked out livelihood from the return on the meagre investments on fruits and food stuffs hawked around town in Somolu, Bariga and Onipanu areas in Lagos (for those that know those areas). For me, selling was interesting as my mother had to entrust those goods into my hands expecting me to use my judgement to fix the prices such that the business would break even. As little as the capital were, the returns were always in order of 150-300% for such products even if it was little. The family of six was always sure of food on the table at the end of the day as a result of the sales both at home and on the street.

The most important skill I developed was the selling acumen and a seemingly sweet and convincing attitude as I learnt from childhood to convince my customers to buy whenever I was called. Come to look at it, I was always among the best 3 students in my class even if I never attended any extra tutorial classes after school hours. The motivation was always there to read after coming back from sales trip. I learnt to study over night and read for exam right from Primary six which eventually turned out to be a strenght for me in my secondary school and University. I came first in my common entrance out 180 pupils and proceeded to secondary school where I was always among the top 5.

I never felt ashamed of the hawking until I became a prefect and I had to use the excuse of my SSCE for my mother before I could be allowed a break. Dont misunderstand me, I was not forced into hawking at all. My parents are loving and one of the best parents you could ever dream of having as they brought us up in the way a responsible parents should. But inadequacy in finance led to all that and I am grateful today that I did then.

Despite all that, I made my SSCE in flying colours, proceeded to the University to study engineering and currently on a federal govt. scholarship in London for my MSc in Mech engineering. Those years seems to be history now, as things are changing for better each day. I still wonder how on earth God gave me such amazing tenacity and in-built inspiration to go through all those years in joy, they were the best years of my life and would definitely form a lasting impression in my memory.

In all these, I give God the glory and I say to all who are going through such situations that with extra perseverance and commitment you will be out of it soon. Its a light affliction and its for a moment. One thing is certain, God has not left anybody so poor that you can't find, at least, idea to survive. It might not be the norm but the peculiarity of our situations could warrant such.

i hawked pap (ogi), i also hawked plantain,banana and i sold moi moi and eko in the rain,so is maize with coconut,kai those years wasn't easy sha but to God be the Glory things have turned out for extremely Good.

My dear the Lord has been good to us.
took some time off for the summer
how's your family?

 i will never forget where God picked me from. my story is very touchy. hence i'm a lil bit upset when i see overt arrogance or self centeredness in nairaland

Okay, as a final curtain on this "touchy"   thread, let me suggest that we all (association of former Hawkers that God liberated!  ) put down, all and any lessons we learned, from our 'experience"!
How did your "Hawking experience" change your perspective/outlook of life, and living?

My thinking is that "what we learnt is of much more importance than what we went through", ?
In addition, putting it down might one way or the other, encourage "someone" who is going through hard times right now, that God has not forgotten him/her!

My lessons

1.) Education is the best legacy a parent can give a child: If not for that education that my Mum "gave her all-in-all" for me and other siblings, l cant ever "smell" where and what l am today. If she gave me a car (or other material things), by now l would have wrecked it or killed myself in it anyway. I hail that woman sha!

2.) Hard-work pays!: Though it was difficult back then (l remember the day rain "beat" hell out of me during a hawking trip, l nearly deny Jesus!) but on reflection now, l find that l can apply my mind to anything, no matter how difficult, and its always sweet, when the "rewards" follow   God is impartial and HE ALWAYS reward dedication, to HIMSELF and to the other mundane things of life.

3.) Mind-discipline: l have learnt how to apply mind discipline, to all aspects of life, especially financial matters. Every "kobo" counts and l have come to realize, through "hawking for pennies" that, if you take good care of the 'kobo-kobos', the Million Nairas would actually take care of themselves! No frivolity   I never "appropriate" the receipts of what l sold for myself, it was all about "the home', and till today, l find it difficult to "take" that which does not belong to me, came in very handy, as a banker. Its all about having a good name, the family name!

4.) The street is tough and only the strong can survive: Hawking taught me most of my "street skills" and they come-in handy today! I am very comfortable, even in extremely hostile environments, No shaking, as we say!

5.) Give Thanks!: I have learnt to Thank God for "unseen mercies". Like someone opined, l could have ended-up being used for Rituals! (that gives me the shudders, to think some actually went that way ), if not for God!!

6.) Never give up: Hawking taught me never to give up on life. I cant ever commit suicide, not for any reason! I realize that live could be better tomorrow, than it is today. If you have never been poor, l bet you can never know what it means to be "comfortable in life", you just cant appreciate the difference! For "guys" still struggling today, maybe you're in school and funds are very scarce, maybe you're job hunting and it seems to go on forever, close your eyes and imagine you could buy whatever your heart pleases (within limits of reason sha) then "believe" that the day would come when that dream would really just be a "normal thing"! Is that day not worth waiting for? Is that day not worth "working and sweating" for? My day came, so l am sure your day will also come, therefore NEVER, EVER GIVE UP. It might be closer than you even think!

6.) Fingers are not equal: most importantly, l have come to realize that others are born poor, just poor, through no fault of theirs! If l can help just five kids in this world, to "overcome poverty" by assisting them in off-setting their academic, financial burdens and day-to-day feeding cost, l would have "changed the world" of somebody, like my Mum changed my world!

These are things l could not appreciate, from reading all the textbooks of this world.

Mucha Gracias
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