When her late dad asked her the profession she wanted to partake in the future, Maria Umutoni jokingly answered ‘waitress.’ Her dad rebuked her for such an annoying answer. “Girls always don’t know what they want. How on earth can you suggest waitress of all the jobs in this world? Certainly you want to end up a harlot like the rest of them,”Umutoni’s dad scolded her. Well, the terrible dream became a reality when Umutoni dropped out of school to become a waitress. Umutoni fell out with her dad immediately after taking up the job. He called his own daughter names and promised to disown her. Ridiculous as it sounds, the society often identifies people by what they do. There are many negative opinions and prejudices committed against people basing on their jobs. As taxi drivers are dubbed as unserious and arrogant, bar girls and waitresses are often referred to as prostitutes.Speak of a blue collar job and people will immediately suggest how daft the people who do such jobs are. And as some would prefer a sit down strike to doing a messy job, it’s the messy jobs that makes the world go round. Yes, no academic qualifications are needed for doing untidy jobs but they are way of too much advantage to the society. Ever imagined where all the sewage from your toilet goes to? Ask sewage cleaners all the risk they go through to save the world from cholera and poor hygiene diseases. And yes, a doctor can never operate without a nurse to help out. A nurse will rinse and clean wounds happily, she will clean up the mess in the labor room while a doctor surfaces at the last minute with a list of do’s and don’ts. A grave digger is never proud of his job because many regard him a sadist. Meanwhile, without people to dig up graves; I bet bodies would be littered all around the streets. Its few who send their children for agricultural studies because they are considered low and peasantry jobs while its well stated that Rwanda’s backbone is agriculture. Underestimation of jobs has become a cancer that has paralyzed people form even trying. Someone gifted with a beautiful smile and sweet talking will dread working in customer care services {in a bar} just because of what society will think. And to some lazybones, they will use “poor job” description as an excuse for not working. I can’t sell charcoal, dirtenning my fingers for no good reason. I can never be a pedicure manicure vendor, how can people view that. Such are the excuses. Meanwhile, some determined people earn awesomely from such underestimate jobs. And with people who know what they want, wellbeing comes first before all crazy opinions from people. Ends
