I taught for several months before campus finally reopened; it was announced in the papers that all students should report back on that September. We had less than two weeks to prepare for our pending exams; personally I had not touched any of my college books during the long holiday.
After reporting back we would gather together, study in discussion groups and on our own burn the midnight candle. After the two weeks we were confident enough to seat for the exam and to say the least it wasn’t as hard as we expected.
We were allowed to go home for two weeks and reported back to begin our second semester on that very same September.
Times were hard for me and my two roommates we used to stay in Githurai and would commute everyday to The university, transport was cheap as we would pay only 10shillings but that didn’t mean that we didn’t suffer there were times I would have nothing in my pocket and walk all the way to Kenyatta university to attend a seven o’clock class. These were times that I thought that self sponsored students are those who believed in the value of education but had been denied the chance most of my classmates proved me wrong as most of them were actually from well to do families. Wealthy parents even to date prefer to have their sons and daughters report to campus immediately after their K.C.S.E results are out. These children don’t have to waste time hustling out there they are spoon-fed from kindergarten to university but I knew I was different. I had to do something about my life, but what?
The 5 shilling lunch
The good thing about universities in Kenya is that there is a mess facility (it’s a kitchen where food prices are subsidized for poor students to afford meals.) Most students queue hear , the rich students as they refer to themselves would take their lunch at the shopping center or the various cafeteria found in the articulated areas of the campus ground.
I was definitely a member of the mess together my roommate and another friend by name Kelvin, sorry we were a little extra ordinary kind of members, as other people would afford a 20shilling meal we couldn’t so we would line up buy Ugali at a cost of 5shillings and take it with the free mushroom soup . As this continued there is this chef who kind of grew fond of me she knew I didn’t eat this out of choice so she would always add bean soup at least to improve my diet; up to this day I still feel grateful to her.
When 2010 came I became a second year no longer a fresher but my troubles didn’t cease this is when I decided to act , I admired the girls and I wanted to date, but how could I date if I couldn’t afford to take a girl out. How could I date if I didn’t have something to entertain her with if incase she visited, yes girls liked me but I knew I couldn’t afford them.
When I said we were 3guys sharing a room in Githurai I forgot to mention who the three were: one was a former teaching colleague who was out of employment, he was a hohehahe like me the other was a coursemate .
Mtu wa mjengo(A construction worker)
On one weekend we were all seated on the floor of our room wondering what we would have for supper that’s when Kariuki the teacher produced a 200shilling note and said, “This is your supper amigos”
We looked at each other and wondered, ‘where did Kariuki get this?’
“Mjengo I was looking for a school to teach when I found construction workers shot of one guy, I told them I would give it a try, it wasn’t that hard and by evening I was had earned this.” He flashed the old note like a kid wishing to buy peanuts.
There was the answer to all our problems. I checked my timetable and realized I had only one class on Friday so I decided to be skipping the class and be working on Fridays and Saturdays, I started making money 400 to 500 shillings every weekend. Combine this with what my parents would send me and I was a ‘rich man’ so to say.
Obviously as a Christian I would go to church on Sunday and spend the rest of the day cleaning.
Being a mjengo man I hardened and developed muscles and my course mates would say that I had joined the gym. I could only smile at them; they wouldn’t want to hear my story. There were occasions when I would bow my head down after seeing college mates passing by the construction site, especially if they were girls. But the best victory of them all is that today I can stand up and point to you a house I constructed brick to brick. It’s so unfortunate the owner and the tenants of the plot can’t recognize me, there is a saying that goes, it doesn’t take long before a child forgets the napkins.
By December 2010 blessing were falling; We managed to move from Githurai to Kahawa , Kahawa was a little bit expensive but closer to the university a place considered to be of a higher class . Kariuki had gotten himself a job but since the two of us still couldn’t afford a single room we accommodated a needy classmate of ours.
I managed to get myself a girlfriend , somebody who truly loved me; I remember this day she kissed me out in public, I was fresh from the construction site you can guess how sweaty I smelled but that wasn’t a bother to her. She was my neighbor, she loved me and I loved her too she would cook pancakes to the three of us and we would munch them good. I feel hungry already as I write this. I have to confess I haven’t seen a woman who can cook like her, her chapattis and her broccoli. I haven’t eaten a broccoli since we broke up. Yeah we broke-up a few months ago. Dont ask why, some things just end. My grandfather told me ‘love doesn’t always win’
That December I bought Christmas gifts for every member of my family all thanks to ‘mjengo’
2011 mocality year
I was a third year Bachelor of Commerce Student when I discovered this goldmine called mocality.com
I decided to retire from mjengo as my girlfriend always encouraged me to; she would tell me that I could do better stuff. I had heard of people who had made millions by doing online research so I decided to give it a try but ‘didn’t have a computer nether did I have a modem and the free computers in our library were so in demand that one had to queue for hours in order to get a sitting. So what I did, I redeemed my bonga points to 200MB data, and then borrowed my roommates modem and my friends laptop.
I was facebooking when I sow this Mocality add saying ‘make money with your phone’ I signed with facebook and was registered as an agent …
Mocality is an online directory which pays agents who help in increasing their database of businesses, its currently operating in both Kenya and Nigeria soon to expand to either Uganda or South Africa.
…I tried to enter a test business but the system recognized that I was using a PC I needed a smart phone and I didn’t own one but my roommate did , so on the Saturday that followed I exchanged my phone with jimmy , told him I wanted to take some photos and would return it in due time. I bought all the necessaries: a biro and a notebook and headed for Githurai where I knew businesses were rampant.
The first businessman I interviewed didn’t want to hear a thing about his business going to the internet neither did the second, others being illiterates sorry to say were even scared of the name mocality. So I had to device another means so I told them that I was a student doing a business project, this worked out so well since I had my school ID which clearly identified me as a faculty of commerce student.
After convincing about 12businesses I went back to the house tired and exhausted spent the evening uploading the data and hoping mocality wasn’t just another internet bluff. Monday came and nothing happened, I forgot mocality and continued attending my lectures as usual. Something amazing happened on Tuesday. I had an afternoon lecture 2-4pm having not taken lunch the lecture was just boring to me I couldn’t understand a single thing our accounting professor was saying I was just numbly seated writing everything he said but comprehending zero; that’s when it happened. That loud sound made by china phones, those that dont have vibrator in their system, after receiving a text. The lecturer was furious, “I thought in your first year tutorial you were advised to switch off your phones during lectures” You could hear the anger as his pitch rose.
I was at the verge of apologizing when I read the content of text
“You have received ksh 1200 MIH Internet East Africa your mpesa balance is 1210”
Instead of saying a thing I picked my bag and shot out of class. ‘Today I would eat at the shopping centre together with the other rich kids’ I withdrew the money and bought myself a burger, called my girlfriend who apparently was at her place. We had a night of celebration and from that day henceforth mocality became a part of our lives.
During the summer holiday my roommate, my girlfriend and his girlfriend all became agents of mocality and I must say we made good money believe me , we could now afford a one bedroom each of us with his own bed.…………..
To be continued
The other part will have to do with the reign of the super agent
Somebody asked me why am writing this story and I answered I want to inspire you with my story
RISE FALL AND RISE AGAIN