When I was hustling, I rented a single room in 4A, a 12by12 cubicle going for 1k. Hustle was mjei as usual, we were building the SDA university in Maxwell pale Rongai. I don’t even know if it was completed or not, its been long.
Being far from my hood, we used to stay in Nkoroi, behind Catholic from Monday to Friday, then Saturdays were off days, we come on Sunday, do half day and break until Monday.
It was one of these Saturdays, I had gone to Oilibya pale Nyalgunga to get some paraffin for my stove, I used to stock it coz it was cheaper in bulk.
I meet this chic from my village, it was almost eight years since I saw her so she’s equally surprised to see me.
We exchange pleasantries and she tells me she’s going to work. Where? Eastleigh!! Ok.
I pulled her aside so that we could catch up kidogo since she told me the kind of job she was doing and she wasn’t in a hurry anyway. In fact it was relief meeting me.
Apparently, this lady was a class behind me way back in primary school, a very bright girl but from a very poor background. She was young and innocent until a certain idiot confused her and left her paged, forcing her to drop out of school. Though she sat for her final exams, she didn’t perform to her standards, the fact being she was expelled from school and only allowed in to sit the exams since she had enrolled. The retrogressive and mysoginic laws during the KANU regime ensured she ended her education prematurely at that level.
I suggested we go to my place ajue nyumba to which she readily agreed but she told me tupitie kwake first pia nijue. No problem, we went to her place.
She lived in the sprawling Kosovo slum. The house was ‘mabati suit’, no electricity, the floor was raw soil which wasn’t even levelled and the mabatis left a space between the wall and the floor, anything could crawl in. There was no bed, she was sleeping on a large cardboard placed under some boxes on the cold floor. She shared this house with two other ladies, all of them working in Eastleigh. I was very surprised but I had to man up and hide my emotions, I didn’t expect this, especially from a lady.
I liked the honesty in her, she told me she needed help. A way out of this situation. Which job was this lady doing?
They go to Eastleigh, parade themselves on the streets and wait for the waariahs to come and choose one to do their household chores. The pay? Fifty bob, sometimes thirty and sometimes you could miss the job even for one week running.
If you’re lucky enough to get permanent employment, you could rake in a whooping 1800 per month, get breakfast and lunch and carry some leftovers home for supper. So far, she had not been lucky to land one.
Inside, I was choking with rage,but to whom in particular? Nobody!! I felt pity!
So we crossed over into 4A and headed to my crib. I told her to warm some tea which I had left in the jug after I had drowned two full cups, ile kikombe ya plastic na loaf I had bought that family bread ‘kumanyoko’ the previous day. Mjengo appetite mnajua.
So I settled on asking this lady how I could help. She said that the most important thing was finding a job, any job. Putting a roof over her head was the chief priority, mambo na food na decent clothing was a luxury, she couldn’t even remember the last time she had a proper meal. The other night, they ate cold leftover noodles which one of them had brought from work. You can imagine how a group of wariahs eat with bare hands from a large platter and the hygiene levels. Another night she came with 50bob, bought githeri and avocado. The previous night, they ate those wariah pancakes, cold and tasteless. That was the type of life she lived.
This day, she was asking me for some flour coz she had 15 bob in her pocket with which she had budgeted to buy skuma ya three bob, kitunguu ya bob, avocado ya bob na tomatoes za vunjika pia za bob. Anunue cooking fat ya six bob na abaki na kitu kidogo. I couldn’t hold it anymore so I told her am not giving her anything.
Instead, I told her that she was going to live with me henceforth as my sister. Gave her my rucksack to go fetch her clothes and start a new life. This was an order, not a suggestion or a request! She had no choice but to agree.
When I went to work the following day, I talked to the contractor muhindi to take her in on light duties kama kumwaga maji kwa previous day’s work, kutumwa huku na huku and such small errands. Thank God, he agreed. So that Monday I took my sister along with me. Since she couldn’t live in Nkoroi with me coz we were a group, the muhindi agreed to be dropping her in town everyday and picking her in the morning. She would then walk to Pangani and wait for zile magari za “Huruma Kumi”, hapo Chai Rd.
She worked hard and within two months moved to her own house. I helped her of course. I knew this work wasn’t sustainable either, I told her to hold on as long as it lasted.
That project was a large one coz we started with putting up staff quarters before embarking on the educational facilities. I’d love to visit that place some day.
Weeks went by as I was still searching for something more accommodating for her.
I had a friend who was an assistant hr at a reputable security firm. When I opened up to him about the predicament of this sister, he agreed to recruit her despite her educational background. Hii ni Kenya bana, its who you know that matters. The starting salary was 13k by then and she embraced that job wholeheartedly. Am very proud of her. I’ll tell you more if you’re interested but in another hekaya.
Otherwise, give a helping hand to your brother however little it may look to you. To him, it could be a life changer and there’s nothing as fulfilling as touching someone’s life positively.
Don’t take advantage of a vulnerable person, a little courtesy goes a long way!