I called my brother, Saro, after his morning run. Yes, Saro is a runner now, the type to explain in detail how many more kilometres he had done than the last time we spoke.
Let me explain, Saro has never been a runner, the man is not even athletic. My brother’s idea of fitness is walking to the fridge at midnight and juggling plates of food while trying to drop one and wake up the whole house.
But he has suddenly discovered running while on his pandemic imposed exile in Uganda. He tells me everyone runs there now, so why not?
He was scheduled to be there for a short holiday and then bam! Borders closed and he had no alternative but to stay where he was for the foreseeable future. Running is his way of coping, who am I to judge?
Only my mother is still in Kenya. I was in Dar es Salaam when the first case was announced in Kenya. It didn’t seem very serious at the time and my colleagues and I decided to just stay where we were.
But now Saro and I are on the hook for Easter while stuck in foreign countries. It will be the first time we’ve not spent it at home as a family.
I was telling Saro that he is luckier if push comes to shove he can join the swimmers making it across the Malaba River into Kenya. I don’t think he appreciates my humour though.
I’ve been racking my brain on how to make this Easter special given the current state of the world, particularly for my mother. Saro has his recently acquired running fetish and I have my small kitchen garden but my mother, on the other hand, only has worry over her two children in forced exile.
But recently as I was talking to a panting Saro, I got an idea on how the family could still celebrate Easter even as we were quite literally worlds apart.
All it needed was a bit of creativity, the blessings of the gods on a working internet connection and the power of a Co-op Visa Card.
Since then I’ve been scouring the internet trying to find the perfect gift for Saro that didn’t need my physical movement from the land of Magufuli to Uganda.
In my short pilgrimage across the internet I stumbled across this music app that would be just perfect for my brother’s recently acquired running bug. The best part is that it allowed a family purchase, I just needed to attach my Co-op Visa Card and I could surprise Saro with all the music he needed to run to his heart’s content. A perfect Easter gift.
My mother proved a little harder to shop for. A die-hard traditionalist, she believes that the only way to commune with family is face to face. This digital existence is perhaps hardest on her.
She is also one of the restless human beings who does not understand the concept of staying indoors with nothing to do. She is always headed somewhere, doing something, planning a trip, visiting a friend…What she needs is something to keep her busy and occupied and distract her from the pandemic.
A teacher by profession, I figured that the best thing for her would be a month-long course in world history. That would interest her, she can just access it from the house, and it would give her something else to talk to Saro and me about.
It’s not the conventional Easter gift but love has to adapt to new situations, right?
Yet the most important ingredient is missing. Easter is still about family and food is one of the best ways to show love.
Paying for Saro’s music and Mother’s history class was a walk in the park with my Co-op Visa card. Now I needed to use the same card to pay for three separate but identical meals in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Where there is a will, there’s a way, or so they say.
It was not very difficult to plan for Mother’s food, our favourite restaurant was still doing take out and they accepted payment through my Co-op Visa card. They promised delivery would be done on the morning of April 12th right in time for Easter.
Saro’s situation was a different matter. I had to jump from one delivery company to another looking for one that could deliver our favourite meal. The country is on lockdown and I was at a loss when it came to knowledge of good restaurants in Kampala.
But finally, after dozens of long-distance calls explaining to delivery companies what I needed, I finally found one that could deliver our special family meal to Saro right after his morning run on April 12.
I’ve already paid for the food and delivery with my Co-op Visa Card. I still had to get something for myself which was not too difficult. Having understood the ease of this contactless payment I just needed to identify the perfect restaurant to make my own delivery.
Everybody’s gift is ready, all they’ll need is access to their accounts on Easter. I am sure my delivery people will not disappoint and we had already agreed to have a family video chat on Easter.
It will be nice to have everyone eating the same thing as they talk. I made sure we all got different variations of our favourite meal.
Easter can still be perfect. All we needed was a working internet connection, a touch of patience, and the magic of a Co-op Visa Card. The best part is that I did not incur any additional fees for using the card.
And voila! Love in the time of corona is still very possible.