Tega was a 16 year old boy who lived in a small fishing village in the Ijaw community of the Niger Delta. At that particular time, the small fishing village was actually envied by a lot of people around because it boasted a continual harvest of big fishes compared to all other nearby villages and also compared to other fishing places known. He loved his community and the simple life he shared with his family, but it was often a struggle to make ends meet. Tega's father had been bedridden for the past 5 years after a terrible accident left him paralyzed. His mother had sadly passed away during childbirth, leaving just Tega and his father. Life was really hard for Tega and he needs to sort out life for himself at a very early age compared to other of his counterparts.
Every morning when he wakes up, Tega would take his father's old wheelbarrow down to the shore to collect the fish he had caught in his nets. He would carefully load the fish into the squeaky wheelbarrow, taking care not to crush them as he knows when he crushed them, that is another problem to handle and get himself out of. His loyal dog Samson would trot happily alongside, eager for the scraps Tega would toss him after the selling was done. One of his great companions then was his dog. Samson never disappoints to always follow and provide this support and companionship to Tega every single time. Tega would then make his way to the busy market where he would sell his catch of the day to the villagers. Whatever money he made he would bring straight home to his father to pay for their food, medicine and other necessities.
On this fateful morning, as Tega was actually piling the freshly caught fish into the wheelbarrow, he heard a loud crack. Wondering what might have been wrong, He watched in dismay as the wooden handle of the wheelbarrow snapped clean in two, the cart upending and spilling his fish across the dirty ground. Tega panicked as he saw the fish beginning to perish in the hot sun. He needed to sell those fish to buy food for his helpless father. At that particular time, he was totally confused not knowing what else he should do and what step next to take.
As he racked his brains for a profound solution, his eyes fell upon his loyal dog Samson, who was watching him patiently. Suddenly, Tega had an idea suddenly. He quickly gathered fallen wooden planks and cobbled together a makeshift sled. Working rapidly, he lashed the sled securely to Samson's back and loaded it up with the recovered fish. Clucking encouragement to Samson, the pair set off towards the market.
It happens eventually that when they arrived, Tega's ingenious new fish transportation system was a huge hit with the villagers! Everyone was amazed that Samson could pull such a heavy load. As word spread, Tega ended up selling out all of his fish and making more money than he had in weeks.
With this success under his belt, Tega started to hatch a much bigger plan. This particular thought came running through his mind. If one dog could pull a sled full of fish, how much more could a whole team of dogs haul? He scraped together his meager savings and bought several more dogs. He then sourced broken down and abandoned wheelbarrows from around the village, fixing them up into sturdy sleds. Each morning, Tega's new sled dog team would race to the shore, allowing him to catch and transport more fish than ever before. Soon, Tega was the main breadwinner for his family once more.