By Gabriel Patrick Lagu
A wise and a foolish man alike can be judged from what they put on. The communication of their appearance sends rebound signals of deep concerns. Every individual is built in that unique sense.
Betty, a third-year secondary student, lived a devoted life in the church in a simple family with her grandma, a woman of good reputation.
Right from the day Betty resumed her secondary studies in form one, all that she had been encountering was tackled with immense love and enthusiasm. As time flew, Betty had undergone a series of evolutions slowly, which until then had gone unnoticed. The person who didn’t miss any church service grew into a lukewarm. Assignments once done with enthusiasm are now dodged on a daily basis.
Obviously the friends she met engineered this whole drama.
Lack of respect grew fond of Betty, as gradually she became a night clubber in the city, drawing worthless fame to herself. Her grandma used whatever language of her comprehension to advise the young lady, but it fell on deaf ears.
Betty’s wear collection soon drifted to match the life she was threading; clothes that once covered her knees reduced to the levels of her thighs open. Such a terrible moment of transformation to reconsider; most intricately, Betty wore her new fashion with an enlightened heart of attending all the reggae nights. Usually, she escaped from home and returned before the cock crowed. On several occasions, her grandma became a flickering blaze of noise, not consolidating with what Betty had gotten herself into.
Time indeed proves the fruits Betty had to bear.
On one fateful night, as usual with the girls, Betty escaped from home just to find out none of her friends turned up that night.
For the urge of the night being a festival, Betty walked her lonely way to the club.
Evidently, according to club conduct, Betty had an ultimate chance, which she viewed as a bridge to riches that was drinking on a rich man’s table. The man was lured by the young girl’s dress style, predating with care, blinding Betty with hard liquor to the level of unconsciousness just to sleep over with her.
Surely, Betty, a submissive prey, fell into the trap and got impregnated that night against her own will and without her own consent, hence ruining her grandma’s golden reputation and her own image, becoming a school dropout and a mother to an unknown baby with no father, a life image attesting to all her grandma’s advice.
The story of Betty is a meaningful one in this context. It draws several moral lessons; seconded to modesty, respect is secluded as an important virtue. Such a common tradition among youngsters in their teenage years is to draw far from respecting an elder. This condition is of much worry; teens pose several drifts in traits as they bridge to maturity. It’s problematic to the extent that each parent should be careful of her child’s behavioural drift.
What teenagers require at their age is a listening ear to mentor their minds. Teens need absolute guidance from parents as their ultimate role models to help shape their future.
Parents are entitled to a full-time job to engage in the moral upbringing of their children, especially in their teenagers. A serious mother and father don’t need to be told to take such a step to secure a deadly end for their child. Referring to Betty from the story, a keen parent who realizes a firsthand deterioration of her child’s conduct, in that case, Betty’s withdrawal from religious scenes. This bold move would have created a deep trigger of concern for a parent. A child who is considered morally upright is one who grew up within the jurisdictions of a religious congregation, Christianity and Islam alike in the case of our country, South Sudan.
A religious congregation is where your child will learn all the virtues of societal life; all the honesty, respect, prayer, and humility are learned in a religious environment.
Theoretically, all those in our communities with good reputations and who make great leaders are all born from the Islamic and Christian society within us.
Note that prayer in the life of everyone is a fundamental aspect; parents are obliged to teach their children from the age of 3-4, when still a child hardly pronounces long names. This is the morality our society yearns for, a prayerful and virtuous people.
It’s more than a parental obligation to follow the academic progression of their children, fostering a competitive spirit in order to earn perfect grades.
There lies a relatively huge role to play from analyzing results to a heart-to-heart talk on areas of improvement and a possible way forward. Speaking on the importance of studies and the future ahead could help achieve that aim. Become interested in your child’s education and provide what is necessary to back her up.
Unfortunately, some parents don’t even know of their son’s coming tests and academic assessments. This is being so insensitive and unconcerned; how on earth do you expect good grades to come from him? Just forget about it; those bad grades will persist till positivity comes from the parent herself.
Normally, it is better to put out a small cigarette fire than to wait until it consumes the whole bush. It is much more awe-inspiring how the Muslims revere decency. Never will it happen that a Muslim woman puts on a short dress, other than dressing up to the ends of her ankles with some clothes to cover their facial beauty and hair. (Tarha) Islam Men alike portray an image of reverence to Allah at the mosques. This is the decency that this generation must be up to.
How many times have we seen women roaming the streets half-naked? Men who appear in public places with shorts, tight fittings, and exposing masculinity? Some are gaining the guts to loiter with vests. What a shameful dress code to apprehend! This means this issue is not about teens alone but a huge disease going to adults too.
On several occasions, modesty has suffered unhealed wounds, glancing at all these happening in our sight, and most especially in wedding celebrations, birthdays, and whatever celebration; immodesty swims into the scene.
This is the real-time to realize what image we adults show and how positive it is due to changing someone.
Once a priest said, “A child is just like a computer; what you show him is what is installed in her memory.” This is a figurative statement to contemplate as adults in the path we have taken.
Everything on Earth, for some time, was learned by example. No one would like her daughter to end up sadly like Betty, who got impregnated by a stranger against her own will but for her own cause. That is to say, “Immodesty.”
It is not only the responsibility of parents to bring about this intriguing matter of interest, but also religious leaders in the figures of priests, sheikhs, and pastors to play a major role in shaping young boys and girls.
Community leaders have to take the huge responsibility of engaging teens in cultural groups and community youth-led forums to bring about the required change our nation awaits: respectful, modest, and religious young adults.