Learning new skills was silver lining to dark pandemic cloud

 

Since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the country, the government took drastic measures to curb its spread. One of them was the closure of all learning institutions, which affected learners negatively. 

I was a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education candidate and, like many of my classmates, had no clue about how we would undertake our studies while stuck at home.

While some were lucky to have online classes during the long holidays, hundreds of thousands of pupils were idle for months. However, as the old saying goes, every dark cloud has a silver lining. 

During the long holidays, I discussed with my parents on how to manage my time at home because I could not read all the time. To be honest, this is one of the best discussions I ever had with my mum and dad because it opened a new chapter in my life. 

I came to learn that life is not all about studying. I realised that life skills are also key to success in the modern world. Skills such as cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, washing our parents’ cars and many other chores help us grow to become responsible and hard-working people.

Most important skills

One of the new skills I had to learn was how to bake a cake. I saved my family money because we never had to buy birthday, Christmas and new year cakes. 

It was fun cooking different types of food and I can confidently say that I can now prepare very delicious meals for guests at home. I also learnt how to farm. My mum and I built a small kitchen garden which saved us from numerous trips to the market. 

Perhaps one of the most important skills that I acquired was that of saving money. My mother paid my siblings and I money for doing household chores. We all had to save this money in our piggy banks. 

I plan to use what I have saved over the last one year to do shopping as I join high school in July. However small it might be, it will supplement what my parents will give me.

I would like to urge parents to teach their children various life skills because this develops their character.   BY  DAILY NATION