The Sad Story Of Shattered Dreams Of A Kenyan Youth Part 2
Yesternight: your girlfriend left you simply because you cannot pay her salon expenses. You cannot pay not because you are not willing, but you have not been able to secure a job three years after your graduation. You always wanted to start your own business all these years, but you cannot get any capital.
You cannot get a loan from any lender simply because you have been listed with the Credit Reference Bureau, after you defaulted your Sh200 M-shwari loan. You had borrowed the Sh200 to photocopy your certificates, hoping that IEBC would give you that mass voter registration job. It dawned to you at the interview that you were unsuccessful because you could not afford that Sh1000 for a certificate of good conduct. Less qualified people were hired, and you saw yourself as a failure.
You decide to go back to the city to continue with the hustle, after all life must continue. Mum borrows some few shillings from her chama to foot your transport, as you go to live in your friend’s house. You have to keep him with hopes of job promises hapa na pale, despite the reality that you are not assured even of an internship opportunity.
Read: The Sad Story Of Shattered Dreams Of A Kenyan Youth Part 1
It is during one of the Sundays at the Aga Khan walk that you meet Liz, this cute chic who shares the same experience with you. Fate brings you together, and out of nowhere mko pamoja kama Jubilee. At first, she pretends to understand your situation, and you think you are destined for greatness. She then starts asking whether you have some airtime, and luckily that day uliangukia and you got some Sh200 for supper.
You cannot send her ten bob, so you chop her some 25% of the money due to her understanding nature. But you are wrong, and she gets it wrong, this triggers the gold-digger character in her. She starts asking for salon money every week, pesa ya nyumba and even sometimes pesa ya choo. If you don’t ‘behave’, you are in hot soup my brother. Wrangles become part of your troubled life.
Despite the bottlenecks, you have not given up, you had applied for a job with qualifications of a form four certificate despite being a degree holder, but you don’t mind. All you need is money, no matter where it comes from. You want money to make her happy, be happy yourself and prove your haters wrong.
Last night she dumped you, and you sighed. At least one burden is off your shoulders. In the morning you decide to open your email to see whether there is a breakthrough, and Yes! It’s there. An email from John Githongo, who had advertised a job in ‘One Campaign’ greets you. Surely, a good day is seen in the morning.
You start reading the mail carefully, not to miss any detail. You have been listed for the job directly, no interview. “Having gone through your application I am convinced you fit into the criteria demanded by the One Campaign…” You become excited and start looking for your Sunday best, that you’ll rock your new organization and colleagues with. You start planning how you’ll use your first salary to surprise your mum and give tithe to the Lord. You then start thinking about the best girls you have ever met, those that are ‘marryable’, yes those that do not apply 5kgs of make up every morning.
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All plans set, you decide to read the remaining part of the email, “…except that you have not attached any certificate to prove membership to any international service organization cited in the advert like the Scout Movement, Rotary or the Lion Club. I advise you to do everything possible to gain membership in any of these movements since this will guarantee you this job. I have included email belonging to the secretary general of the Lion club (Kenya) for your use since it’s the only club which registration is still open, contact him to get membership registration urgently. He will guide you on how to go about it. I will be forwarding my list tomorrow, make sure you send me a copy of the membership certificate or membership number. If I do not hear from you by end of tomorrow I will be forced to drop your name. Good luck.”
It’s tricky but you have to do your best. It is a golden chance. Lion’s club is the only saviour, and you email them. They are ready to help you, but you need Sh3500 registration fees. You have Sh50 in your pocket, and you have nobody to borrow from, after all you have borrowed from all your friends, and CRB cannot allow you to borrow from any bank, including M-shwari. The chance is gone. And you wonder why always you. You blame God, because you go to church, and you blame satan because you are a sinner.
Out of emotion, you sit to vent, not to anybody but by writing this piece.
You can read part one of this story here
The writer of this story is anonymous.
‘My Story’ is meant to help us tell the public about the difficult paths we took to actualise our dreams in life. You can tell us your story anonymously or openly by sending us an email through info@businesstimes.co.ke or reach us through Facebook or Twitter.
