She was the only child of her mother, the only piece of joy which left for the poor mother. She would do everything in her reach to make sure that her daughter lived happily. She didn’t want her to think of her poverty and start comparing herself to her friends at school.

Being divorced was something that poor Nangondo never thought could happen to her.

Whenever she remembers how loving her husband was, how he used to demonstrate his care for her and also how sad he was to the news that they had no gift of a child in their marriage, rivers of tears would run down her cheeks. Mandidi, would always comfort her whenever she cried out to God in prayers for the fruit of the womb. He told her that their day would come when God would surprise them and bring them the joy they had been looking for.

Being poor was an added reason which sometimes made them wonder if God has forgotten them. Hard workers they were. They could gather all their efforts in everything they could do but the Lord’s hand was never seen upon them.

All of her friends, whom Nangondo got married the same year with, already had babies in their arms. Some had two while others had even three children. When she saw them holding their babies in their arms, the feeling of motherhood would grieve her the most.

After a long walk of struggles in prayers, the greatest treasure they had been looking for had come. Their prayers were answered and God stretched his hand upon them and the gift from the heaven was given, they had a baby girl.

The unimaginable joy which filled her heart was unforgettable. She always rejoices when she recalls that moment. All the pains she had became history and a new life of motherhood began.

Unfortunately, the baby was a friend of sicknesses. She would suffer from one sickness to another and her mother would not rest day and night visiting hospitals. Huge amounts of money were lost and the so called joy became sorrow. The baby’s condition was becoming more and more unbearable to her father that he wished they never had a child.

Stressed was Mandidi the father, thinking of a solution to his child’s sickness.

His friends became annoyed with him for he spared no time for them.

“He’s only thinking about his sick baby. He’s stressed up! He has forgotten us,” they all said.

One day, the friends visited Mandidi and found him stressed. He asked his friends to help him with what he could do. Unfortunately, they encouraged him to eliminate the baby or to divorce Nangondo so that he could be stress free. They all backed up the ideas with concrete and convincing reasons which loosed Mandidi to a point that he said he’d have to think about it.

After thinking about it very deeply, divorce was the only solution that Mandidi could think of after denying a thought of killing the innocent child.

Poor Nangondo could never believe how changed her husband was. There was nothing she could do for her husband was stubborn and never wanted to listen to her. Nangondo gathered up strength and faced the challenges. She took good care of her daughter and she was well. Although they were not rich she grew up to be a bit healthy.

Nangondo always encouraged her daughter not to give up in life and to work hard at school. She believed that maybe someday they’ll live a better life. Nagama never took her mother’s words lightly; she understood and lived by them. Hard working and committed was all she had in her heart and mind. She never wanted to waste her mother’s money which she knew was not easily found. She made good use of it in school and everywhere else.

Their success was not that surprising to them for they really worked very hard. Nangondo and her daughter never looked down on themselves and never did they forgot or blame God for their problems. Regrets caught up Mandidi. He couldn’t understand Nagama and her mother’s success. He wanted to go and apologise so that he could take them back but he didn’t know where to begin. He grew to old alone while his daughter and wife were thriving.

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Tell us what you think: Do you think that people should always listen to their friend’s advice?