Before You Buy My Coffin, Please Believe in My Dream

One question has lived in my heart for a long time. Why do we often find money to honour the dead, yet struggle to invest in the dreams of the living? This is not an attack on our culture. Honouring those who have passed is part of who we are. But somewhere along the way, we have forgotten something equally important. The living also deserve our support. I have seen young women with incredible talent in fashion who cannot afford a sewing machine. I have seen young men who could become excellent barbers, welders, carpenters, mechanics, and entrepreneurs, but lack the small capital needed to begin. They don't need millions. They need one opportunity. They need one person to believe in them. Yet many ask family and friends for help and hear the same words: "Things are hard." "Maybe another time." Then, when that same person dies, everything changes. Their obituary poster spreads across WhatsApp and Facebook. Money suddenly becomes available. Tributes are written. Everyone talks about how talented and hardworking they were. And I cannot help but ask: Where was all this support when they were still alive? Where were the shares when they started a business? Where were the customers when they needed their first sale? Where were the small contributions that could have changed their future? A funeral cannot replace an opportunity that was never given. Sometimes, one sewing machine, one barber's chair, or one set of tools is enough to transform a life. Before we spend so much honouring someone's memory, let us do more to support people's dreams while they are still alive. Buy from small businesses. Share their work. Encourage them. Believe in them. Because the greatest honour we can give another human being is not how beautifully we bury them— It is how faithfully we helped them live.