‘It was the best époque,’ said the driver to the man who occupied the
front seat of the car as I boarded. ‘Yes it was,’ ‘Yes it was, ‘
quietly answered the middle aged man in a manner that clearly revealed
that he was in a contemplative mood and took the discussion with the
driver seriously. I must confess that as long as I have been boarding
Taxis, never have I boarded one in which the atmosphere was so
contemplative. ‘How I wish that the youths of our time had the
opportunity to experience an educational system as effective and
efficient as ours, ‘ quickly added the driver, just as I started
wondering what these two men were discussing that made them so
passionate and engaged. When I had reached my destination, the
discussion between the two men, nostalgic of their school days and
educational system, had not stopped and as I alighted from the Taxi, I
started having a deep thought on all the things I had heard the two men
discuss. I asked myself, ‘What will I talk about with so much emotion
and passion in two decades from now? ‘. As this question wondered in my
mind, I soon became nervous and started blaming the generation of the
Taxi driver and his passenger for having done nothing to ensure that
people of my generation enjoy the efficient and effective educational
system that they had.
As a young person, I am conscious of the fact that there is a great
tendency for people of every generation to blame the generation that
preceded it as being the cause of its turmoil. According to
international bodies like the United Nations, no generation before ours
has ever had the tools and means of overcoming all the things we
inherently hate and would not like to be associated with like poverty,
hunger, abuse of human rights, and all forms of violence. To me, this
raises the question of ‘what legacy do I want my generation to leave to
future generations? ‘ Such questions should be constantly on the minds
of every youth of this generation.
About 43% of the world’s population is under the age of 25. Youths
therefore make up close to half of the global population and are
logically those most affected by the plagues of our generation (disease
poverty, hunger, and abuse of human rights).The above reinforces my
belief in the fact that it is in the ultimate interest of youths of this
generation to make the eradication of those things plaguing our world a
priority. It is only then that governments, policy makers, traditional
and religious authorities will clearly see how much we long to live in
a world where people’s gender, sexual orientation, and status in
society is nothing compared to their right to treatment, safe delivery,
and access health facilities.
While we have rights we also have responsibilities, and one of those
responsibilities is to leave the world better than we had it for the
generations to come. If we expect to receive more let’s be prepared to
give more than we receive. Come to think of it, we are the generation
with the highest chances ever of making access to health care for all a
reality, ending gender based violence, and making poverty history. Our
time really is now and we must never allow this opportunity to leave a
cherished legacy to future generations pass us by. Do something today
for this generation’s legacy and the good of future generations so that
we could one day proudly say: Our generation made the world a better
place.
