The Sad Side of a Long-Awaited Dream
A Fictitious Story
The alarm went off at 2:30 a.m. Samuel groaned, stretched out his hand and silenced the screaming gadget. For a few sleepy moments, he lay motionless on his narrow bed, wondering how he was going to drag his aching body through another twelve-hour shift. He had returned from work barely six hours earlier, and it felt as though he had only just closed his eyes.
“Another day at the gate!” he muttered as he reluctantly pulled himself out of bed.
Samuel had never imagined that, after spending years at university, he would end up working as a security guard in Dubai. Yet here he was, thousands of kilometres away from his wife and three children, sharing cramped accommodation with other workers and waking up at ungodly hours to earn a living.
He glanced at the photograph of Lydia and the children on his bedside table. Then his eyes fell on the small notebook in which he had written his financial goals before leaving home. He had promised himself that the sacrifice would not be in vain. The stalled rental project had to be revived, and he needed enough savings to establish a dependable source of income that would eventually enable him to return home.
“If only Lydia would understand why we must plan before spending,” he whispered. The thought reminded him of their telephone conversation the previous evening. Once again, he had asked how much of his latest remittance had been saved towards their projects, and Lydia had nothing to show apart from a list of expenses.
He sighed, picked up his uniform and began preparing for another day at the gate.
Samuel and Lydia had been married for fourteen years. Before leaving for Dubai, the man had purchased a plot of land and begun constructing rental units. Unfortunately, the project had stalled at foundation level when his financial resources ran out.
Lydia, a devoted wife and mother, had remained in Uganda with their three children. But unfortunately, the couple had different approaches to managing money. While Samuel believed that every significant expenditure should be planned and a portion saved before money was spent, Lydia believed in explaining where each shilling had gone. Worse still, each time they discussed the issue, Lydia could not understand why Samuel seemed dissatisfied when she had actually not wasted the money. He recalled how his wife had gradually drawn on the children's ‘education reserve’, assuming that the fees would come from his next month's salary. Unfortunately, his salary had been delayed. The children had to sit at home for a good four weeks as a result.
“Something has to change,” the frustrated father muttered as he stood at the gate in the scorching heat.
As if God had felt his pain, that was when he got a way out. “Sam, why do you always look as though you are carrying the whole world on your shoulders?” his friend Andrew asked during one lunch break. As Samuel explained his stalled construction project, his colleague told him about Star Construction, a firm that specialised in building houses for Ugandans working abroad. “They have a presentation this very weekend,” Andrew said.
On arriving at the venue, Samuel found the meeting room crowded with Ugandans working in different parts of the United Arab Emirates. He was particularly inspired by fellow workers who testified about how the firm had helped them build their properties from scratch. No one was complaining.
Then the presenter introduced the company's directors, Pastor Daniel and his wife, Helen. As it turned out, Helen and Samuel had attended the same secondary school, where they had a brief spell of puppy love that faded as they grew up. Nothing serious.
At the end of the meeting, Samuel and Helen were delighted to touch base after decades. And that was how his journey with Star Construction began.
Lydia was excited to hear that a professional firm was finally going to handle their building project. From then on, Samuel would send the construction instalments to the firm and money to Lydia for household expenses.
Eventually, the rental units were completed, and Samuel engaged a property manager to oversee tenant arrangements and rent collection. Within months, the units were occupied and generating income. A few years later, his contract ended, and he returned home. Fortunately, he was also able to secure a good job. With a steady salary, rental income and a thriving family, labouring in Dubai had been worth it. At least so he thought.
Then, one quiet evening, as Samuel and Lydia were relaxing in their sitting room after dinner and watching a television program, a Star Construction advertisement appeared on the screen showing a woman addressing a gathering of prospective clients in Dubai. Lydia suddenly leaned forward. “Isn't that your Helen? The girl you were so crazy about at secondary school?” Samuel laughed. “Oh, yes. That's Pastor Helen. She and her husband own Star Construction.”
But Lydia was no longer smiling. “So, you met your former girlfriend in Dubai. You signed a major contract with her company. And all this time, the company building our rental units belonged to that woman, and you never thought to mention it?”
Samuel looked genuinely puzzled. “I did not think it was important. We were children when we knew each other. She is happily married, and a pastor at that. What are you instigating now?”
“You left me here sweating to run this home. And this is what I get. Really? As in, really?” A furious Lydia walked out and banged the bedroom door.
The words hung heavily.
Against the backdrop of all he had sacrificed to get his family to where they were, Samuel had never anticipated that a long-forgotten childhood infatuation would become the subject of their most unexpected argument. And had Lydia embraced financial planning principles, perhaps Star Construction would never have been an option.
