Majority of people in trouble just need someone to listen

Everyone wants attention and sometimes people do not demand more than a listening ear. [Courtesy]

Recently, I had an insightful discussion with a child protection officer over the many ills bedeviling our society.

We concluded that most of them could be averted if people listened more.

He recounted how he had prevented many abortions and suicides by merely sitting back in his office and offering a listening ear.

He narrated an incident in which a young pregnant lady walked into his office with only one option remaining: abortion. Having been abandoned by her boyfriend and rejected by her mother, her options were limited.

The officer listened keenly and eventually requested only one favour; not to rush with her decision and keep coming for guidance.

The next time, the lady came with a suggestion. She requested the officer adopts the baby immediately after birth.

Again, the officer was empathetic enough and approved it as an option but asked her to take a little more time as she thinks it over. The lady disappeared for months.

One morning, the officer walked into a smiling girl holding a baby at the waiting lounge.

The lady had been accepted back by her mother and the boyfriend was on her neck wanting to reconcile. Her mission aborted beautifully just because he decided to listen.

In another incident, a boy had become a gang leader. Terrorising villagers and students alike. The boy lived with his grandmother while the mother worked miles away.

Every time the boy ‘sinned’ the mother would be forced to come home. Somehow, the boy made a habit of committing a crime every two weeks.

In one incident, the children officer made a deal with the mother to stay with the boy for four months. The four months lapsed without the boy misbehaving. This turned into years.

Everyone wants attention and sometimes people do not demand more than a listening ear.

Unfortunately, many parents have become too busy for their children.

Some children have been caught up in broken relationships and have to endure life with an incomplete puzzle.

Social strictures that helped bring up a society that lives by acceptable norms, have also broken down.

That said, majority of men struggle to stay macho for their friends while bleeding inside. According to this officer, men fear being ridiculed and losing their ego and that’s why they rarely open up.

 -The writer is anchor at Radio Maisha