SURVIVING THE ECONOMY:WHEN MY POCKET WAS EMPTY BUT MY HANDS WEREN'T __WEEK115

The economy has been beating all of us lately.

I don’t need to tell you about fuel price, food price, or transport. You already know.
Last week I went to market in Awka and came back with half of what ₦10,000 used to buy me 6 months ago. I stood there and just laughed. Not because it was funny. Because what else can you do?

And that’s the problem. When your own pocket is lean, helping others starts to feel impossible.

How the bad economy is affecting charity

Before, charity was simple. See someone hungry, buy them food. See a child without books, give them something.
Now?
Even people who WANT to help are asking themselves: "If I give this ₦2,000, will I have transport to work tomorrow?" what will be my faith if i dont have have tomorrow's transport?.

I’ve seen it in my church. Our welfare department used to feed 30 families every month. Now we struggle to do 10. Not because love reduced. But because members themselves are barely surviving. The same people who used to donate rice are now asking for help.

The economy didn’t just take money. It took courage.
People are scared to give because tomorrow is uncertain.
"Let me keep this small thing first." "What if things get worse?"

And the people who need help? They’ve doubled. More people on the street. More students dropping out. More families skipping meals. So the need went up, but the ability to meet the need went down. That’s the painful part.

But here’s what I learned: Charity is not only money

When my own income dropped earlier this year, I felt weak. Something that is going to finish within a short period cause bills are here and there with increase in price of everything.

Then my younger Sister came to me. "Aunty, I don’t understand this maths."help me with it.
I had no money to give her. But I had 1 hour.
For 3 weeks I taught her after work. Free.

That day I realized something. The economy can occupy your wallet, but it can’t occupy your skills, your time, your voice.

3 Ways to survive the economic downfall AND still show love

1. Give what you have, not what you don’t have
Can’t give ₦5,000? Give 30 minutes. Teach someone. Help an elderly person carry market bags. Share data for someone to apply for a job. I started "skill swapping" with 2 friends. She cooks for me on Sundays, I help her with CVs. No money involved.

2. Be intentional with small things
I started carrying a "blessing bag" with me. Water, biscuits, sachets. When I see someone at the bus stop looking tired, I give one. It’s ₦200 total. But the "God bless you" I get? That one feeds my soul. The economy says "keep everything." Love says "share a little."

3. Build community, not just individuals
Alone, we’re struggling. Together, we survive. In my area, we now contribute ₦1,000 each weekly and at the end of every month we use it to buy foodstuff and other valuables for one widow in rotation and sometimes we extend to the motherless babies. ₦1,000 won’t do much alone. That’s the power of "we."

The truth

The economy might stay bad. I won’t lie to you and say "it will get better next month."
But if we wait until we’re "rich enough" to be kind, we might never start.

Charity in hard times doesn’t look like big donations. It looks like sharing your last bread and still smiling. It looks like checking on your friend who lost his job. It looks like using Hive to encourage someone who’s tired.

I don’t have much right now. But I still have me. My time. My story. My ability to listen.

So I’m asking you:
How has the economy affected your ability to give? And what’s one non-money way you’ve shown love recently?

Let’s share ideas. Maybe your small idea will be someone else’s survival plan.

We may be surviving the economy, but let’s not let the economy kill our humanity.

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