“New Year comes every year but 2011 is a special one which will happen once in a life time. It will start with a combo, the first one being 1/1/11. After 10 days 11/1/11 while after 10 months it will read 1/11/11 of which 10 days later it will be 11/11/11. Isn’t that fantastic?  I wish you a wonderful year and happy holidays,” reads a message I received on New Year ’s Eve, last weekend.

 

I couldn’t help but marvel at this message because with all these unique dates, I just wondered what sort of a year it will be. I long for it to be different from 2010, a year I described in this column as a year of disasters. You can name them, earthquakes, plane crashes, floods, heavy snowfall just but to mention a few. And, as if to confirm what I have mentioned as gospel truth, many families in Europe and some parts of America failed to enjoy their holidays after heavy snow falls forced officials to cancel all flights while floods forced many people to vacate their homes while at the same time counting their losses.

 

The year will be remembered for its historic start, the Haiti earthquake and its classical finish in form of floods and heavy snowfalls.

 

I long for it to be different from 2010 in the sense that I lost some of my beloved relatives, friends and colleagues. Death is unavoidable but it remains painful, I don’t know whether it is to those who would have died but what I am certain of is that it is very difficult to stomach when it comes to those who would have remained. 

 

Looking at those who were around us, who failed to make it into 2011, should give us more reason to thank our God for being in a position to read this column now. 2010 has come and gone, we have so many sad memories but we should also cherish our achievements and good deeds we carried out in the same year.

 

Whenever I refer to the good side of 2010, I am quickly reminded of the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup we successfully hosted in South Africa. I will also never forget the early Xmas gift we received from Kilimanjaro Stars in form of CECAFA challenge cup. Personally, I had a number of achievements, of which if I look back on, will smile and thank God and this same applies to you.

 

Congratulations and welcome into the New Year dear reader. The trade mark of marking the inception of 2011 was not an exception. While some people went into churches to pray thanking God for 2010 and making sure that they thank Him for the New Year, some were busy running around the streets shouting, singing and making all sorts of noises.  What interested me this time was the presence of the vuvuzelas. Yes, dear reader, the one that was popularized during the historic 2010Fifa World Cup in South Africa.

 

A group of young men and women made sure that everyone in our neighbourhood, especially those due to one reason had decided not to wait for the new year and instead enjoyed their sleep, had no option but to wake up because the noise from the vuvuzelas they were blowing was unbearable. I know each and everyone of us has his or her own experiences when it comes to the new year celebrations but what is important is that we have our expectations this year.

 

Don’t worry about the failures and disasters of last year, everything is now history.  For those who are still to come up with their resolutions for 2011, time is still on your side and this year’s resolutions should help you maintain focus.  Many people fail to achieve their intended goals but we should not treat that as a sign of weakness, but once that happens we should dust ourselves up and begin the race again till we attain that goal.

 

I know the year for most people has started at a bad note with pockets having been perforated during the recent holidays, where most of us celebrated as if there was no tomorrow. In a bid to please friends, family and at the same time maintain our status in the society, we embarked on a spending spree that saw our pockets being overstretched. Just like I mentioned last week that a disease had been ambushing us and now that we are in the New Year, the January disease is fast catching up with us.

 

Reality is fast dawning in our small heads that we need to have preserved the little that we splashed during the festive season. January is usually a dry month, especially for the bulk of wananchi who survive on from hand to mouth basis. There is no reason for us to continue crying over spilt milk, what is important is to learn from our mistakes, pick ourselves up and move forward.  

 

But, in our endavour to survive under these difficult circumstances, it is my appeal that we make this country a better place for everyone to live in. My main concern is the fact that in most cases, it is the children who suffer the consequences of our misdeeds. My heart bleeds every time I am reminded of parents’ brutality against their own flesh and blood we reported in the media last year.  

 

Many parents try to dump their frustrations and failures on their children whom they in most cases treat inhumanly.  Let us protect these young ones for they are tomorrow’s leaders. Our failure to realize our goals should not be an escape goat to abuse children.  It remains a fact that Rome was never built in one day and our fore fathers believed that ‘hata mbuyu ulianza kama mchicha.”  Even if we fail to achieve our goals now, the best thing is to go back to the drawing board and start afresh rather than not only losing hope, but also let our children suffer.