Echoes of Hard times We sat down outside in the cold night air, reminiscing our old tales of hardship. Gloria talked about days they were so broke, her mum had to roast corn to make ends meet, how she’d cry when her siblings would leave her at home and go into town to hawk pastries. Christian sighed and told us about how his family used to be rich, until his father died and the company he worked for, paid a gratuity so little, it couldn’t even cover the funeral. How early in the morning, his mother would share Ugwu (pumpkin) leaves, potatoes and garri amongst his siblings for them to hawk around Okere Market. He talked about how he never had any dreams of making any progress in life and was beyond himself, when he was picked ahead of his brother for the Federal Government Amnesty Scholarship program.