#MyKenyanHero by Natalie

Novelist Sarah Perry describes a hero as ‘a person who saves the day. S/he is the one who has all the courage and all the responsibility’. While the saying is accurate, it leans more to the fictional heroes we know and love. And truthfully, our first perception of heroes is the vigilantes fighting crimes that take place in the dead of night. But we must expound on the characteristics of a hero, and from there we will debunk the myths tied to heroism. Once we have offloaded those thoughts, we will start to see the kawaida mwananchi shujaas, the real heroes in our daily lives.

Margaret Vivien Akinyi Agunda is my aunt and my hero. My cousins and I prefer to call her “Auntie Viv” and we know her for many things including her journey since her younger years.

Auntie Viv is the fifth child and eldest daughter of my grandparents, Mzee Helekiah Agunda Ndeda and Mary Achieng Agunda. As the eldest girl, much was expected of her. For starters, she had to be sharp (click your fingers twice to emphasize this); she had to set an example for her younger siblings – and bring them together whenever there were fallouts. Being the firstborn meant occasionally wearing the parental hat when mama and baba weren’t around because order must be maintained! As more children were born into the Agunda family, Auntie Viv took on her sisterly role wholeheartedly and to the family’s neighbours in Ngara, it came as no surprise when some of the younger Agunda children started calling her ‘mami small’.

This leadership role instilled in Auntie Viv an intolerance for indiscipline. She became known for her occasional strict nature even for the next generation. I remember my mother’s warning voice: “Just continue misbehaving and I’ll take you to Auntie Viv’s ndio ufundishwe adabu.” That little threat was all it took to silence me and because I didn’t want to be in Auntie Viv’s bad books, I’d immediately apologize to my mother and behave as was required of me. Years later, I began to see my auntie for who she is: a caring, wise, loving and God-fearing woman who truly wants the best for people around her – family, friends and even strangers.

While on the subject of strangers, my auntie is known to accommodate strangers in the best way she can. When she settled into her first home in Ngumo with her husband, she didn’t miss a chance to give. Whenever she had a gathering at home and there was plenty of food leftover, rather than waste, she and her husband would serve the remainder to the parking boys around the Kenyatta Market. It wasn’t just food she gave. Auntie Viv would donate clothes or even support the kids that needed medical aid.

Her noble characteristics don’t end there. My aunt was also the mother-hen of the Sliders Hockey Team back in the day, where her teammates appreciated her motherly nature. In times of joy and distress, it was Auntie Viv that they turned to, she was their confidant. After she’d retired from playing hockey, her former teammates maintained their relationship with each other and their team-mum. She had done the thing again: bringing people together.

I am happy to say that I owe many of my successes to this incredible woman. She has been a voice of confidence during my moments of uncertainty. She has been a beacon of hope when the world felt like it was falling off my shoulders. And she has always been available – on phone or text – whenever I reach out to her. I have blossomed into the lady I am today thanks to Auntie Viv. And I am confident that most of my maternal cousins and distant relatives share these sentiments. One notable fact that my family can all agree on is that when you visit Auntie Viv’s house, you can’t leave without a snack or a meal – she just won’t allow it.

My auntie isn’t a hero because she has enough courage for all of us, but because of her motherly nature, and her kind and generous disposition intertwined with intolerance to indiscipline. I see now that she is strict only when she needs to be, and in retrospect, I am thankful for that. I pray that as she continues to leave her footprints in more people’s lives, God will continue to bless her, give her strength and encourage her. She is #MyKenyanHero.

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This story is shared with us by Paukwa’s Content Lead Natalie. She is an avid reader, somewhat of a grammar-nazi, and a raconteur who loves reading great sentences.