It’s not flawless when it flows

In an extension to last weeks’ entry titled Is your child’s money yours?, I bring a different dimension to a seemingly similar notion. Someone I know decided to migrate to the United Kingdom years back for a better life. She left her child with a relation and promised to fend for him until she was ready to call for him. She would send school fees, money for his clothes, food, works and bills. She did not hesitate to send money towards any need the guardian asked for. She believed all was well until she decided to come home for a visit. Chaos greeted her when she found the child with barely anything to good to wear. He lacked even a proper school uniform and struggled with pocket or groceries for school. She was devastated.

I saw a video clip during the week of a man demolishing and setting ablaze his parent’s house. The story is; he resides in South Africa from where he was sending money to his parents to build him a house, this and that. He believed to have made progress basing on the money he sent and so decided to come home to inspect. Lo and behold, things were not as he anticipated. Chaos greeted him and he retaliated by setting his parent’s house ablaze. He was arrested.

News about parents, spouses or siblings embezzling their relations money is not new. Many assume that when a relation is aboard they are swimming in money and will not notice if their funds are spent. Some assume that those away will not return, therefore, cannot claim money sent. Pandemonium ensures upon their return and many grieve because they would be nothing on the ground to tally with what they had been sending home.

Being abroad does not equate to riches. Many are toiling, spending sleepless nights just to make ends meet. They try to prove themselves back home. Then, someone decides to make a fool of someone’s efforts, even when this person tries hard to help while sending the projects.

Financial transactions are trust oriented. If we cannot trust family, who should we trust? There are some friends or acquaintances who maybe more trustworthy than those close to us, but everything is gamble.

I really do not have any advice here. I cannot ask the ender to withheld money until such a time when they are ready to come home and build. They may decide to use it for something else, killing the dream of progress. There should be reasons people embezzle the money. I am not condoning or judging, but I am appalled at the rate these things happen. Why do some lie or pretend to be utilising money for intended purposes, even taking pictures projects to others, just to keep the funds flowing for their benefit/

It is murder to cheat someone in that manner because many do odd and dirty jobs in the diaspora. They do not have it easy. Don’t worsen their situation by defrauding them