2021: Year of hope
Four days ago we entered the New Year 2021. All gratitude goes to the Almighty for the blessing of another New Year. Every New Year is special but 2021 was unique in its own right as it followed one of the most troubled years in recent memory. 2020 was ‘special’. On the national scene and on the international scene, there were developments that have left marks for life.
In Malawi, a historic general election re-run was conducted leading to a long period of uncertainty and instability. The country saw the first elections case and the ensuing re-run of the election regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors like lack of funds to cater for the election.
Fast forward to January 2021, a new regime is now in place and the country remains pregnant with hope of a brighter future.
All over the world, Covid-19 brought numerous challenges. There are books, series and documentaries in the making for years to come about the year 2020. Thanks to the digital era, there is more data and visuals that have documented events as they happened.
The year 2020 was the first time that the whole world faced a similar struggle that affected everyone at all levels regardless of location, race, status; the factors that determine who gets affected by what.
Even the usual rhetoric about ‘Africa being most affected (by anything and everything) because of poverty’ did not come true this time. Actually, the reverse happened; providence does play jokes on us sometimes.
The health, social professional, financial and psychological limitations brought about by the spread of the virus brought the world to its knees. Everyone is reeling from the effects of the pandemic and they shall be felt for years to come.
Since the onset of the pandemic (the ‘official’ on set declared at the beginning of 2020), 84 million people have been infected worldwide and 1.9 million have died. These are staggering statistics and of a virus with no known cure so far.
Countries have instituted lockdowns and operations have been crippled or even halted. Masks and sanitisers and other safety materials have become the order of the day. Who knew this could be life? This i s what the year 2020 brought.
The New Year 2021 has juststarted. People are skeptical but there is hope. It is the year of hope after the turbulent 2020. This could be the year of recovery and restoration. We are hoping to see a different and better year but we are whispering this under our breath because we do not want to be disappointed.
Whether the Covid-19 pandemic does pass in 2021 or not, 2021 can and still remains a year of hope because this time we are prepared. This time we are geared up to live the current life with what it has thrown at us.
The mental and otherwise preparation does not mean the journey will be easy and comfortable. It just means there will be less confusion and paralysis from the shock of the developments.
Hope, just like faith, works better with action. Action is what will bring better results. Action is what will make us re-invent our lives and our world because we continue to hope for a doable and better future.
A New Year is always an open-ended opportunity to reflect, plan and make resolutions and craft new goals. Here we are four days into that opportunity and how we use it will determine what we will be saying and doing come next year.
I rest my case.
