WHY FAMILIES AND FRIENDS SHOULD SUPPORT ENTERPRISES OVER WEDDINGS

By Francis Chipalo It has become common for families to quickly form Committees when a relative announces that they want to get married or they are getting married. WhatsApp groups are quickly formed and contributions starts coming in. Good thing right? Yes it is. But why can’t we do the same and act with the […]

By Francis Chipalo

It has become common for families to quickly form Committees when a relative announces that they want to get married or they are getting married.

WhatsApp groups are quickly formed and contributions starts coming in. Good thing right? Yes it is. But why can’t we do the same and act with the same energy when a family member announces or shares that they are planning to start a business or that they are struggling to sustain their business due to lack of sufficient capital?

I am not saying it is a bad idea to support a relative getting married, but, don’t you think it is more profitable to support one in business?

Ok, look at it in this way, by the time the last plate is cleared and the DJ packs up, a wedding is over in 6 hours.
But a business you help start today can feed that same family for the next 30 years.

It’s time we rethink how we show love to our own. Some way we rush contributions when one dies but failed to contribute towards medical expenses.

Bane, a Wedding is an Expense but on the other hand, a Business is an Asset.

The average wedding in Zambia these days costs K50,000 to K200,000+. That money goes to: venue, decor, food, dresses, sound, and photos etc.

Once it’s done, the value is gone. You have memories, but no income.

That same K50,000 invested in a business becomes a salon that employs 2 people, a delivery van that earns K800/day. Stock for a shop that turns over every month or indeed farm inputs that feed a family and create surplus

The difference between the two is that one creates debt whilst the other creates wealth.

We Celebrate the start of a family, and that is important, but what happens after that event? The same family will start starving. We raise K100,000 to celebrate two people getting married then 6 months later, the same couple is on WhatsApp groups asking “Bantu nipampeko ka 200 for rent, diapers, and mealie meal.

Why? Because we funded the ceremony, but not the capacity to provide.
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If families and friends pooled that same money into the couple’s business idea, tailoring, farming, trucking, agri-business, we would be celebrating anniversaries with profits, not with stress.

Fact is Businesses create jobs and weddings on other hand create bills. We have heard stories of newly married couples we funded struggling to settle debt shortly after the event. Some have even ended up divorcing few months after your sponsored wedding. What does that mean? Wastage of resources.

Guys, when you contribute K1,000 to a wedding, you get a plate of food and a thank-you message and when you contribute K1,000 to your brother’s business, you create Income for him, jobs for his workers, opportunity to support you back when you need school fees or hospital bills.

A supported business becomes the “family ATM” that everyone benefits from and a wedding becomes a memory everyone forgets after the pictures fade.

The reality is that most couples start marriage in debt. Loans for the wedding, loans for furniture, loans for the honeymoon.

Statistics show financial stress is the 1 cause of divorce in the first 3 years, talk of ma suicide which are on the increase.

Imagine if instead, the community said “We won’t fund a K150,000 wedding. We’ll fund a K150,000 business and do a K10,000 registry wedding.”
That couple starts life with capital, not creditors.

For me, it is the most loving thing you can do for your relative/friend.

Giving towards a wedding says “I love your one day” but investing in a business says “I love your next 20 years.”

Real support is not clapping at the reception, it is helping ensure there is food on the table after the reception.

As families and friends, let’s rethink how we do things mwe. Instead of a Bridal Shower, let’s fund his/her Gift shop, or better still, supplement their business capital kwamana.

Yes, God, family, and community all want the marriage to last but
marriages last longer when there is dignity, provision, and peace of mind, isn’t it? You married people, do you enjoy your sleep knowing there’s no food in the house?

Mwebena Zambia, let’s stop funding 6 hours of celebration and start funding 60 years of stability in our families. That’s how we bring joy and happiness in homes/families. And you also planning to get married, reduce on unnecessary demands for your event otherwise you won’t enjoy your marriage na njala.

My opinion!

The author is a Mental Health Activist, a Journalist and Media Consultant based in Lusaka.

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