Wiclif Otieno is a young man with an old man’s tales. In one sitting you will not only be impressed by his milestones but be encouraged to take action against the present unemployment rate in Kenya.
Growing up in Mathare Valley, Wiclif was welcomed into a life of poverty. When his mother passed away from HIV, he set off to the countryside to live with his grandmother. She received him with open arms, taking him in as her own and enrolling him at a local primary school. Over the holidays, she sent him back to the city so he would not lose touch with his friends.
On one trip back to the city, Wiclif found himself unable to return to his grandmother’s home due to financial constraints. He settled in with his uncle – the leader of a Nairobi gang – and in no time, Wiclif joined the notorious group. Their mission? To survive. They mugged wealthy-looking individuals, stabbed the stubborn ones and returned to their slum life, satisfied that they had survived another day. Their afternoons were spent idling away or plotting their next move. But as we know, good luck and bad behaviour do not correspond. It was only a matter of time before the victims of Wiclif’s gang fought back.
Wiclif witnessed bullets fly and saw his friends fall to the ground. He survived, and resorted to find other income-generating options. With his ear to the ground and his hustle mode intact, he quickly discovered the earnings from scrap metal collection. He jumped into the game, mindfully keeping open the backup options of begging and offering porter services at vibrant markets. Who knew even informal work had low seasons?
Good fortune came Wiclif’s way on one of his days at the market. He had targeted his usual audience – wazungus, not to beg but to seek out some porter work. The couple he approached allowed him to walk around the market with them, carrying their purchased goods. But when one of the askaris on duty spotted Wiclif, his beggar status revealed by his appearance, he was chased from the market. Afraid, Wiclif ran but returned soon after to complete his porter service. The couple only had questions for him. It was then that Wiclif narrated his story to them.
Moved by his sincerity, they adopted Wiclif and enrolled him in a rehabilitation centre. After several months getting clean of the glue and gas he was used to inhaling, he was fit to go back to school. Furthermore, his time at the centre changed his mentality towards his former life. He thought about the others in the slum who had lived the life he had. The ones who had not received a formal education and remained idly unemployed.
He approached his benefactors and presented a business proposal for a craftwork business. They were impressed and he was given start-up capital. Wiclif started with four employees – former colleagues he knew and was certain he could trust. They worked by day in a small workshop, and by night, Wiclif allowed them to convert the space into a sleeping area.
Creating employment for his team of four provoked Wiclif to look more closely at the unemployment rate of youth in Kenya – how idle and naïve they were when offered any jobs, even illegal ones, for a few shillings. It was from his findings that Wiclif formed Kito – an initiative aimed at guiding youth toward a lifetime of self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship and financial management training.
What Wiclif does through Kito outlines what we call Paukwa Positive. We encourage him to keep fighting to eradicate unemployment and poverty, building a better, more stable Kenya in the process.
