I don’t know why he started to tell me his life story. Perhaps it’s because the spirit of encouraging others lives within him. He calmly told me that “life is what you make of it”; happiness and sorrow are a matter of choice and we need to learn to be happy at any point in life.
He showed me his family as his wife served me tea. In my mind, he was no more than 38 and his wife seemed even younger. He laughed as I registered shock to learn that he is a grandfather of two. His two daughters were married and the third and last was well into her teens. Very odd to meet a grandfather not yet 40.
When he was in class 7 (About 14) he impregnated his then girlfriend. At the time, he and his parents were staunch church goers and he was actually an altar boy. There was much outcry and ostracisation after the news was known. He did not shy away from his responsibility and his girlfriend came to join their home. The relationship with his father became very strained as he was stung by embarrassment, shame and disappointment in his young son and the direction his life had taken. The tension was too much and he opted to move out and rent a room in town and live with his ‘wife’. He did odd jobs like fetching water for the neighbourhood and managed to support himself until she delivered. Soon after the baby was born, his mum came and packed them up and they went back to their home where he continued with his primary education. He did well in class eight and was called to Njambini High School a good school in his area requiring the first years worth of fees of 80,000. Unfortunately for him, his family could not afford it and he was back to doing odd jobs for some months fetching water. One of his neighbours suggested that he could try a new school that was being constructed near his home and he did. He joined in 3rd term of form 1. He proudly recalls vividly that he paid a total of KES 21,000 till he finished form four doing odd jobs such as fetching water for the community.
After Form four, he became a hawker and would sell anything from toothpaste to socks especially near busy shop centres. On one particular day, he was selling foodstuff and some people kept coming to buy and heading into a building nearby, he asked one of the ladies what they were doing and she told him that there was an organisation recruiting people to study Agriculture in College. He playfully asked “Why not take me?”. Lucky for him, she took him seriously and asked him to bring his documents the next day and he did. He gave the address of a church near where he was hawking. Several months later, one of the parishioners of the church told him that his letter has been announced in the church severally. He had completely forgotten about the application and to his delight, had actually gotten into the college. He stopped hawking and went to school. After completing his college education, he again found himself unemployed and went back to hawking. He recalls that he would pass by a long corridor every morning and evening and cross over to go and sell on the other side near the Bus stop in Nyahururu. As he passed through this corridor, he would say hello to one of the proprietors of an Agro shop. The Agro dealer took a liking to him and offered him a job cleaning the corridor every morning and evening. He would do this and spend the rest of the day hawking.
One day, while alone around the shop he happened to assist a farmer who had a problem that had persisted and sold to him some products. The farmer returned extremely delighted and asked to speak to the attendant who had sorted his problem to thank him personally. Every one was called in and they could not identify him, as they were wondering who it was, my colleague passed by carrying a pail to continue his duties. The farmer exclaimed jubilantly and thanked him profusely. The Agro-dealer was surprised to learn that his corridor cleaner could not only sell, but had Agricultural qualifications, he hired him on the spot as a Salesperson. This began his career in Agriculture. Several years after this, he interviewed for a role that required him to ride a motorbike. He tried to get one of the local elders to show him how to ride one but he was dismissed. He however managed to get a license and drove a bike for the first time at the interview. He was the third in line and carefully watched what the first two did and listened to them practice. He then confidently climbed onto the bike and drove himself and the instructor for the 200metres it took to pass the test. 
He later moved jobs and is now a field officer that trains farmers on best agricultural practice to optimise their yield. To prove to them that his words are true, he also farms on about 5 acres of land that he cultivates to supplement his income and generally because he can. He is almost done with child rearing as his last born is in high school and quite often it is just him and his wife of over 20 years spending time together. He is what I would term as a “preachy person” as he finds every opportunity to share the love and grace that God has shown him with others. I was awed to have met him and to appreciate the obstacles he has overcome to be where he is and the immense self drive that he has in him. This kind of courage and self propelling doesn’t just exist in the dust to riches stories of millionaires but in everyday lives of people who have risen above their circumstances and made a life for themselves. He wishes that his grandchildren will go further with their education and break the generational trend that seems to have formed in his family of early marriage. He is content that his children are happy and that his family is happy.
Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Megs' 