My first Saturday morning I spent watching a TV progam called Youth Voice. The topic of the day was “What would
you do with 20 million Ugandan shillings, cash?” For those of you who don’t know
that equals about $8600. The hosts took calls, read out answers that had been
texted, and interviewed people on the street. Some of the answers included buy a
car, buy a house, buy land, blow it all on partying, pay my tuition, give some
to my parents, ect… But by far the most popular answer was to use the money to
start a business. The business ideas ranged from shops, to hair salons, to
farming, to internet cafes, to sports bars, to becoming a driver. It was
interesting to see where the minds of Uganda’s youth went when presented with
an improbably opportunity.
For most of us $8600 is not a fortune. It is
not a small amount but it could by no means change a
person’s life in such a
drastic way. In Canada you couldn’t buy a house or land, or pay more than two
years of tuition, or start a business with $8600. But for most Ugandans it is a
small fortune to receive. Only one person responded that it was nothing and not
enough to do anything with. It got me thinking about wealth and relativity. I
didn’t come to any ground breaking conclusions but it was an interesting
internal monologue none the less.
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