Crises come into everyone’s life anytime of the day. A raging typhoon, tornado or hurricanes are much better because of warnings from weather forecasters. But when catastrophes fall into lives e.g; sudden closure of business, loss of loved ones, loss of a beautiful home etc. numb and paralyze the mind.
My family had fallen on a hard time. This was the year of the September 11 incident in the United States. Prior to this event, our export business (native products) was booming. There were already buyers coming in from abroad and contract for our first delivery to Australia was in process. It was the second year for our business and high hopes were brimming.
The ghastly deeds of perpetrators shook the world. It had a domino effect. Anywhere and everywhere businesses tumbled and one of those was our export business. Our orders were cancelled; the contract from Australia did not push thru. We were unprepared and above all, everything went down the drain. Our hard earned money was put into that entrepreneurship, not a single centavo left in our savings account.
My three children were all taking medical courses (in one of the best schools in our place) but they have to stop studying. There was no money for education. Due to cancellation of orders, there were debts unpaid. It was a nightmare. I was at the edge of despair; the shortage of currency was hard to tackle and yet the tears of my children were harder still.
Nevertheless we realized we were luckier. We were intact as a family and despairing over lost things won’t help us or any family facing a crisis. These are the things though our family did during those crucial days.
- A family council was called weekly. Everybody contributed his/her ideas; what to do and what not to do.
- Measures were taken and implemented. Austerity was foremost and no exemptions except for the most basic needs.
- As parents, we stayed focus and calm. Faith in God was our pillar and we never lost hope, inspiration and courage.
On the brighter side, we counted other blessings sometimes overlooked by most; good health, knowledge and wisdom, food on the table, roof over heads, children, jobs (though income is meager) etc. Although my children grew up in a comfortable home, they did not balk with the austerity measures.
When this crisis came into our lives, no one faltered. Everybody threw in whatever he/she could help the family. A line from the movie Batman: the Dark Knight, “the night is darkest before dawn” was how I described those trying times. Nonetheless our family rallied on and after six months of extreme hardships, dawn came to our household.
The maxim “saving for the rainy days” is fitting and the best lesson learned.
