SILENCE IS A CRISIS

I'm in this group of about 135 members. We were all school mates at the University. Daily we throw banters – we “tease” each other, share jokes and we avoid religious, political or any topic that might cause frictions.

We had the Regulars in class, the Once In A While Attendees, The Readers Association and the ones on Mute. 

Occasionally, announcements are made that classmates check on each other, and report back. However, when the Regulars stop appearing on the platform, we sometimes assume they are busy, we also tend to neglect the Once In A While Members, and don’t even bother with those on Mute.

There is something we all gloss over, the fact that we are in the group because of a common denominator ( classmates of over 20years) therefore, we have come a long way. 

We all have our different ways of life; Some are loud, others playful. We also have quiet ones and prayerful ones. Therefore, if you are a regular in the group, you shouldn't expect everyone to be like you, and if you are the quiet one, don’t assume others are too loud, it is this mix that makes the group a perfect blend. 

The essence of this write up is to reiterate the need to blend as one, the need to create bonds of friendship, and be our brother’s keeper.

In this group, there was this active member, no matter how late in the day, he would sign in and add to the day’s discussion, by posting or forwarding a message. He never missed a birthday. 

Sometimes, his birthday wishes came 3 days after the birthday celebration. We used him as a measurement for drawing the curtain on birthday celebrations.  Then suddenly, he exited the group, and he was contacted. 

He informed the admin that his phone was bad and he would get back once it was fixed. True to his word, he came back after a while, but he never contributed again in the group. Some of us noticed it, but nobody did anything or reached out to him.

We never knew why he went mute, until one of the administrators reached out to him, and discovered he had been ill for a long time. He could not afford his treatment, he had to discharge himself from the hospital and started self-treatment at home. 

One of the Admins informed the group and asked that we reach out to him. Some did after the announcement was made, but others procrastinated. 

We all woke up less than a week later to the heartbreaking news, that our dear classmate had passed on to glory.

Some of us began to blame ourselves for not reaching out when the announcement was made, classmates in the group began to type RIP, those on mute, had to unmute themselves to type RIP

Guess what? If we all had been Each Others’ Keeper or if we do regular check up on members in the group. Perhaps, one of us would have discovered his condition on time,  and we could have been able to assist him financially and otherwise.

 Today we mourn a colleague, yet, while alive, we failed to do the simple task of checking up on him or others in the group.

What does it take to check up on a group member?  A simple text (SMS or WhatsApp) or a call. All you need to do is introduce your self, and simply type “ Just checking up on you, hope you are fine and doing well? If there is any problem or issue you would like to discuss, I am here for you.”

The Admins can set aside a day – weekly or monthly, for members to check up on each other. Pick random numbers in the group, and reach out. THAT MESSAGE OR CALL MIGHT JUST SAVE A SOUL.