Neighbors are also part of the family

Growing up in a communal environment taught me a lot, from being street smart to enjoying bonds but the one lesson that became an embodiment of my life is that " people around me are more than just neighbors, they are potential family members waiting to be accept.

I was born and raised in a large compound with about 18 different houses yet all the I habitants lived together harmoniously despite having countless disputes. From a young age I accepted unity in diversity as the compound was made up of people with different backgrounds, tribes, culture and religion yet we all found a way to accept each other's differences creating bonds that are still quite visible to the very day.
Living in this type of environment really shaped how I saw the world. The kids were the collective responsibility of every adult in the compound and not just the parents. We celebrated every festival, wins and loses together and if I remember correctly, I believe as children we were allowed to sleep at each others houses. That's just the height of the relationship of everybody - neighbors turned family and that is the way I intend to live my life.
In my new environment, I am still very much involved in the lives of my neighbors and so are they in mine. We talk, converse, help each other when the need arises and on the issue of if there was an emergency and I was away from how, would I trust them to help when the need arises. The answer is yes as they have done it before and this was what happened.

So late last year, I travelled to another state for a very important wedding and was supposed to spend two weeks there before coming back home. I left home in quite a rush forgetting to turn off every electrical appliance and the electricity entirely before leaving for the bus park. I boarded a bus and about halfway into the journey, I got a call from a female neighbor alerting me that something was burning in my room and if I don't do something about it fast, I was probably going to lose a large percentage of my possessions. I quickly called a friend who also stayed close to my place, told him where I hid my keys and begged him to help me out at my hour of need. The guy was literally at his place of work but he excused himself, rushed back to my place and immediately attended to the cause of the alarm. When I got back home from the wedding, I found out that not only did my neighbors help prevent a disaster, they also took care of my room without a single item missing and if I was in their shoes, I would do the same for them as well.
So yes I love my neighbors and we share a mutual understanding that has helped build our relationship. I hope to train my kids the same way I was brought up too but just a little more extra cautious because of the ever-changing nature of society.
Thank you.
All images are mine