As Mothers ...

Personal sharing of experiences …

What does it mean to me as a mother, when I consent to my child attending Afternoon classes, and upon return from school, the class was cancelled for a reason unknown to us.  Where have you been?  What did you do instead?  These are questions that arise.  How does it affect me as a mother, when I only have $2.00 to spare until next pay, and my child insists on giving fifty cents for his mufti levy, which is never accounted for, nor do we know where the cents are going to.  When do I draw the line at CAPS meeting, when there is clearly a live electrical wire just beneath the blackboard, with a notice of DO NOT TOUCH pasted nearby.  How do I react to the nurse who has just given me a lecture saying “we close at 4 pm”, when my baby needs urgent immediate help? 

Such is the daily fight that challenges mothers, and as resilient as we are, the refocusing of priorities to what is my Immediate need and foregoing an important part of child rearing, breaks our hearts occasionally.  In all the turmoil of putting our families before us, we run the risk of sacrificing our sanity. 

To add to this, the unethical practices that exist within our schools, churches and communities, have magnified to such an extent that now, it is perfectly fine if we agree to something that is wrong, just as long as it serves our purposes.  With no cross checks, and no one to account on our actions and decisions. 

As mothers, the responsibility is ours, to ensure that the Sunday Classes are not only a babysitting class, but one which introduces and emphasizes strong values and teachings.  To identify what is unethical or corrupt, we need to look at whether the decision making process is transparent and accountable.  Introducing the culture to our children and husbands that we have to account for everything that we do, be it an errand to do in town, a toy to purchase or simply preparing and cooking dinner.  Including our families along the way, is key to ensuring that our children and husbands cultivate the practice of being accountable and transparent.

“Son, can you go and buy a kilo of sugar please.”  Upon return, is there a receipt?  Is there change from the $5?  What else did you buy?  When asked these questions repetitively, the child now begins to know that upon return, the child has to produce the receipt or the change.  This activates a change in behaviour and awareness to expectations and being responsible for a particular task.  In a few months, you will notice that this practice will have transferred to other areas of your child and husbands lives. 

Imagine, how we as mothers can positively contribute when we begin and push to ask key questions at our PTA meetings, or at the wives clubs?  We spread the expectation that those who make decisions about our annual dinners, have to account for their actions and decisions. 

Boom!  Within a few months, we would have been able to impact friends, families and partners, and before you know it, maintained a cycle of being Transparent and Accountable.