The bright side of black tax

 Dear Reader,

As journalists, we are exposed to things and people from all walks of life in our coverage of various news.

There is a lot we learn from those we encounter on a daily basis; although we often end at the “wows”, and hardly put the lessons to use.

Personally, I have been inspired by the Malawi University of Science and Technology’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Address Malata among others, who, after appreciating what education can do, challenged herself to transform the lives of less privileged girls from her village through education.

Seeing pictures of these girls before and after their tertiary education, one can appreciate the transformation.

Evidently, with one such life changed, their families are somehow equally uplifted from the assistance they provide after getting employed and being self-reliant.

Another great thing is that seeing the value of education, they, in turn, are likely to ensure that their children too are educated. So, it is a ripple effect.

There is a leaf there to borrow, for each of us if we are to transform this country. We all know that one of the biggest challenges we face is that few of our children go beyond secondary school for lack of fees.

The above is a great example of what the black tax being talked about on Candid Talk by our guest writer today can do for someone when “the have’s” step in to provide the much-needed school fees.

But just as our guest author indicates, this channel ought not to be abused. It is best to let the benefactors do what they can and within their means, instead of heaping every educational need, wedding, funeral and everything else in the family or in the community on the one or two people with meaningful earnings.

We can be considerate and give them some space to breathe as well and not overstretch their generosity that they cannot even afford to provide their immediate families with some of the luxuries that they wish they could. Times are hard, we all know.

So, just as stated in the column, black taxes might be a positive cultural tradition, but it can equally be problematic if taken as an entitlement. Learn more by reading the piece written today by one of the avid Candid Talk followers.

Moving on, the story on page six about the rising cases of unsafe abortions in Rumphi is another concerning matter.

Clearly, the Rumphi statistics mirror those of other districts. This might indicate the low uptake for family planning services among the youth.

Perhaps it is time we stopped denying that our youths are sexually active and let them access family planning methods to avoid such incidents which not only put the lives of the girls and women at risk, but are also a huge burden on the health system.

Malawi might have been recognised as one of the exemplar countries on adolescent sexual, reproductive health and rights, but clearly, a lot more needs to be done to get more youths on board.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to congratulate this week’s woman on the cover story on the international recognition in promoting safe motherhood.

The award, which she received in Rwanda, is evidence that hard work pays. You might think that only a few people appreciate your work and take that for granted but look at her—a mere community volunteer being recognised on the international platform!

The level of success you achieve is determined by the work you put in when no one is watching, so the saying goes, and it is a lesson to everyone.

Read on and enjoy!