‘I am not lucky or even that good, I’m just blessed’
Ziggy Adam is a legal officer at the Fair Trading Commission (FTC). But he is currently both working
and studying. Ziggy is studying LLB Law at the University of Seychelles. He has passed all his exams and is very thankful to God, his parents, friends and colleagues for that. He said work and studies are linked and instead of being a challenge, working and studying have become an advantage.
Ziggy Adam lives at Beau Vallon. He did his primary and secondary studies at the Beau Vallon school, then went to the School of Advanced Level Studies to continue his post-secondary education. He is now pursuing law at the University of Seychelles
Ziggy is not married and with no kids yet but looking forward to have them one day.
He has two elder sisters, one younger sister and brother.
Hobbies and pastime
Ziggy also has his hobbies and pastime. They include youth work.
“I guess right now anything else I do aside from my professional work is a hobby. As the chairperson of the board of directors of the Seychelles National Youth Council, together with the other members, we discuss regularly on how to improve the service of the Youth Council to the young people of Seychelles. We have taken it upon ourselves to build a firmer foundation for the next board that will come, establishing guidelines and practices. Aside from the board, together with two friends, we own a youth website www.ptidetay.com where we post youth news as well as information which people do not know about yet,” says Ziggy.
He encourages young people to make use of the website as it also contains a vacancies page from the Ministry of Labour.
Other times, especially during weekends on Sunday afternoons, Ziggy plays dominoes at his friend’s place at Beau Vallon, or sometimes football on the field nearby.
“I love the beach and a walk on the beach relaxes me. Basking in Seychelles’ nature is also one of my greatest hobbies. When I walk around in town at times I like looking at the sky or the mountains. I can’t stop feeling big instead of small, living in such a place,” Ziggy says.
Challenges at work
Like in all jobs, Ziggy also faces challenges in his.
“Finding time to do other things such as thinking, relaxing and so on (jokingly). Working at the Fair Trading Commission is not a walk in the park. You need to be ready for anything, anytime. There is no such thing as a fixed agenda when you are working in the public sector and offering a service to sometimes, angry, frustrated or tired consumers. So an officer of the Commission needs to be ready to do more than planned every single day,” explains Ziggy.
He added one needs to have energy and patience to do such a job, “as one would need in most other professions”.
“Stable blood pressure as well I guess (jokingly). As I have said, working in the public sector and meeting frustrated consumers on a daily basis is not easy, but if you like working, you like being on the edge of your seat, you almost meet the criteria. Aside from that, you need sound legal or economic knowledge as a professional criteria,” he says.
Ziggy hates regrets and he says he regrets all the opportunities he has let go in his life considering the vast amount of opportunities one is exposed to on a daily basis in our country,
But he says until now he has nothing he wants to change about his life as he believes that he’s always where he needs to be.
Childhood days
Talking about his childhood days and things he enjoyed most and the mischiefs he was involved in, Ziggy says:
“Well, I was quite mischievous, probably still am. I grew up with my two elder sisters, my mother and step-father (as my father passed away when I was two years old. Later on I had a kid brother. We (the siblings) were always looking forward to the school holidays. My sisters taught me how to climb trees (believe it) and we would roam around our neighbourhood collecting fruits with our friends or we would play the biggest hide and seek game ever, using the whole of ‘Berlin’ (that’s a sub-district of Beau Vallon) as the playing ground,” Ziggy recalls.
Ziggy adds at school he was always one of the best in school work. Together with another colleague they always had this small untold rivalry, alternatively coming out best in class.
“But truthfully, I was completely unaware of that until late in primary school. That is one of my weaknesses, I was unaware at most times, for example, the exams would be next week or the next day and I would only know the day before. I still don’t know the exact reason for this, maybe I was caught up in mischief or in my reading of all of Enid Blyton’s books, I am not sure,” says Ziggy.
But on the other hand, Ziggy says he was never quiet in class.
“I feared open days, not because of my marks as I was rarely below 95%, but the teachers always complained to my mum that I interrupt classes. I just could not keep still or keep my mouth shut, I had to be the centre of attention. In my defence, it was because most of the time I knew all about what was being taught beforehand as I found interest in my sister’s higher level notes. Come to think of it, that helped a great deal with my education,” Ziggy adds.
Bad and memorable experiences
Still on the subject of mischief, Ziggy says he remembers his first trimester in Secondary 1, precisely Secondary I (one), when one day they had no teacher for two periods. They were chatting louder and louder by the minute when they got a visit from a high official in the teacher hierarchy at Beau Vallon school.
“He told us that we should be quiet and be exemplary being S1(1) and that we will soon have a teacher, and then left. As soon as he left I stood up and shouted ‘Irie!’. It so happened that he was still around and came back in and asked who shouted. I owned up and he said “give me your hand and I want you to shout ‘Irie’, so I did. I got a spank until I thought I would need new hands (laughs). For the rest of secondary school I remembered that mischief was fun, but respect was more important,” Ziggy says.
Ziggy also gained memorable and life-long experiences which have carved him to be what he is today.
“I remember each time I got encouraged by teachers and fellow colleagues and those were the good experiences. I remember my P1 teacher pinching my ears because I kept interrupting her because I thought I knew everything. I remember M. Marie’s disappointed voice in P2 when I did less than I was capable of and she said “Come on Ziggy”. I remember when I broke my wooden chair in P4 and had to come to school with a hammer and nails to fix it. This taught me ownership and responsibility. I remember stopping a fight in P5 during movie time which taught me that everyone should be involved to make a positive difference. I remember in S2 Sir Lopez was telling us to reach for great things. He said and I quote “people will tell you that the sky is the limit, but I tell you this, the limit is the sky”. I could go on, as I have had so many memorable experiences most of which taught me a life lesson,” remarks Ziggy.
Hope for the future
Ziggy hopes that young people seize the opportunities in our country, especially young boys who he believes are less eager to do so.
“I am sure this is something people are tired of hearing, but if it is still being said, it should be really important. I would like to see everyone take care of their environment as I am tired of seeing people drive by and throw garbage out of their car windows for example. I hope of a day when we will no longer need to do mass clean-up,” says Ziggy.
For himself, Ziggy has a personal hope.
“I just hope I get to that place God wants me to be. For the most part of my life I thought I was doing it alone but not long ago I realised I was not lucky or even that good, I’m just blessed,” he concluded.
By Marylene Julie
Source : Seychelles NATION