maandag 16 september 2019

No degree but property

Eerder gepubliceerd op Facebook 16-09-2017

Today I received this "letter to Sierra Leonean youths" in a WhatsApp group. The letter puzzles me, since it says: "Forget about education, a degree makes you work for minimum wages and you will still be poor. Not a degree but property will get you out of poverty. It's better to have a small business, like selling in the streets, than to get your degree."

I don't think this is a good idea, especially for the nation as a whole. I believe the country needs an educated new generation, especially women, to get out of mysery, but on an individual level it may be true that education doesn't prevent you from being poor. Or is this letter only inspired by envy?

To explain the amounts in the letter. Earlier this week I transferred € 22 (SLL 184,321.00) to a good friend who's taking care of four siblings and had gone completely out of food. That day the euro was around 8400 leones. One day later the euro is worth near 9000 leones and one dollar is 7500 leones. 
[* 16-09-2019 Western Union: € 1,00 = SLL 9602]

So what is wisdom? How to fight your way out of poverty? Small business, property, degree?

I don't know the answer to poverty, and most probably you do not know either.

I can think of love and mutual respect to start with, education, no corruption, no asking for bribes or (sexual) favours, proper tax system, infrastructure, use of hydro- and solar energy, tourism and hospitality, diaspora sending money home, diaspora bringing knowledge home, investing in profitable business, proper savings schemes, microcredits, crowd funding, fair trade agreements, multilateral international diplomacy, and what more..

Maybe you have some comment on the importance of higher education 'versus' small businesses to fight poverty.

Here's the letter that I received 16-09-17 through WhatsApp: 

"LETTER TO SIERRA LEONEAN YOUTHS!

Throw Away That Degree Otherwise You Will Die Poor ~~~~Think Ahead~~~~

Most of the educated people in Sierra Leone are poor. Majority of the educated earn less than Le2,500,000 for a salary before tax and other deductions.

When the deductions are put into consideration, the net salary comes to around Le1,800,000.

The net salary then suffers from loan deductions of up to Le500,000leaving the salary at around Le1,300,000.

The landlord then demands for his Le300,000 and monthly shopping takes away Le250,000 leaving one with a Le750,000.

The bus will demand for Le10,000 going to and from work and relatives get another Le150,000.

The whole salary is gone and borrowed money starts operating. The borrowed money includes short loans and salary advances.

The difference between poverty and prosperity is property. A prosperous person has property to his name while a poverty stricken person has no property to show.

Using this understanding, therefore, most of the degree holders are poverty stricken, borrowing money to buy chicken and chips, pizza, and a car.

The biggest excuse for getting paid such low amounts of money and having to sit and work for another person for 30 days is THE DEGREE that one possesses and that’s all.

This has made most of the degree holders very poor to poverty stricken and will die that way most likely. A degree holder does not know how to generate money unless that money is generated for the employer.

A degree holder is so dependent on the salary that he can do anything to get a job but will not think of starting a business of his own to employ others.

(...)"

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