BY JANE WACHIRA
A majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honour. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents, someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn life around. It’s overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt – Leo Buscaglia.
When Jackson Zulu made a post on his Biko Zulu blog titled “That thing in Jadudi’s head” he had no idea what impact it would make. Emmanuel Otieno aka Jadudi then third year University of Nairobi student, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in 2012, he was only 22 years old. This saw him undergo three surgeries but the tumor continued to grow defiantly and he was required to undergo a fourth surgery in India. By this time his parents had already exhausted all avenues for funds that they could think of.
Jadudi then sought the help of the African Cancer Foundation headed by Zawadi Nyong’o and blogger Jackson Zulu. He needed Sh1 million. Jackson Zulu posted on his blog a piece on him labeled “That thing in Jadudi’s head” asking his readers to help in rallying funds to fund medical bills by providing account numbers and an M-PESA pay bill number. This was followed up with a tweet under the hash tag Onemilliforjadudi. Five hours after posting Jadudi’s story on his blog; this target had already been achieved. By the next day 4pm only 46 hours in the funds drive, the account had Sh6.1million. The final amount stood at a whooping Sh6.4 million. This was not all; a hotel chain and airline also gave donations in kind. The airline offered to fly Jadudi and his parents to India while the hotel chain offered them accommodation in Nairobi.
Thanks to Kenyan well-wishers’ kindness and generosity, Jadudi underwent a fourth successful brain surgery in India and returned to the country to recuperate. With a smile on his face, he even managed to make humor stating that he had the best medical trip, which seemed more like a holiday to him, because there was no pressure to the extent that he gained weight as he was eating and sleeping.
Then there was Janet Kanini Ikua, a celebrated NTV’s N-soko property show host. When she shared the news of her stage four cancer, her friends, colleagues and former schoolmates took to social media to offer their support and to help raise funds for her medical bills of Sh5.2 million. The mother of a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter received overwhelming support.
You may know him for hosting a popular breakfast show alongside Mwalimu King’angi at Classic 105 FM, a local radio station. Maina Kageni is giving back to the society in a very big way. He made an initiative to raise funds to purchase cancer equipment for children at the Kenyatta National Hospital. The weeklong fundraiser dubbed ‘Be a Hero for a Little Hero’ was targeting to raise Sh10 million for the purchase of five chemotherapy chairs, chemo ports, and infusion pumps for treating cancer in children. The wave spread like a burning bush on social media pages as the word spread about the Sh10 million mission, which was in conjunction with Eddah’s Hope Cancer Foundation that would manage the account in which the money would be stored as well as oversee the procurement of the equipment.
One thing you can never underestimate is the power of Kenyans to contribute to a good cause. People gave support from all walks of life. Regional retailer, Nakumatt also extended the period of their cancer campaign to support Kageni’s initiative. They further pledged Sh2 million and further contributions from customers through its loyalty card Program. By Friday of the same week not only had the funds drive achieved its Sh10 million target but had also beat it with another 10 million, with a further Sh6 million in pledges expected to be donated.
Aside from those who extend their generosity to the lowly and sick, there’s another group that sees talent and takes up the noble responsibility of nurturing it. The holy writ says that a gift will take you before kings; remember Daniel Owira, better known as Otonglo who sprung to fame after delivering a phenomenal narrative “Otonglo times” during the 2013, National Drama Festivals where President Uhuru Kenyatta was the chief guest. He left the audience in stitches that even the President laughed to tears. This publicity saw Owira narrate to the world his true story; he came from a poor background, a family of five siblings under the custody of a widow mum who was financially impaired. Then, he was a form two student at Highway secondary school whose education was at the brink of collapsing, as he did not have the stability to keep the momentum.
He received offers from many well-wishers who were ready to help him through education amongst them singer Jaguar. He appeared on several commercial advertisements like Naivas and in local programs such as Lies That Bind, Inspector Mwala and Churchill show. However, the ultimate breakthrough of all was when the President made a call to Owira and invited him to statehouse alongside his family. He would later adopt him as his son and pledge to pay for his education all the way up to university level. The President also offered to get his sister a formal job and his mother decent housing and capital to run a profitable entity.
Then there was Emily Wanjiru, a six-year-old ECD pupil at Gashororo, a slum neighborhood in Juja. She was performing a solo verse “Mvua hii” at the 2014, Kenya National Drama festivals and got the President’s attention. The solo verse is about a child who wets her bed and wonders why it only rains in her bed and not her mother’s. She wondered why it would even rain at night when she kept umbrella open. According to Emily’s teacher, Emily’s mother used to work at a quarry in Juja but stopped due to ill health, and she resorted to washing clothes for neighbours and collecting empty detergent containers for sale. Emily would sometimes show up for practice on an empty stomach; however she forged on.
She caught the President’s attention with her solo verse and when her life story aired on K24, he came to her aide. He family was given a new house with electricity and water and for which they didn’t have to pay rent. Wanjiru was also granted a full scholarship till she completed her university, through the Wings To Fly Scholarship Program, St. Petroc Premier School also pledged to sponsor her education until she completed form four. Her mother and grandmother were also to get enlisted to a business project. Having been born by the roadside and with no hope for a better life, her star is now shining brightly.
“Sirikali tafadhali! Saa hii niko mbaya kabisa! Jane Anyango Adika may be famous for her distress call to the government whenever floods in Kano, Kisumu County destroyed her home. This however, would soon change and Kenyans will have to sing a new tune to her name.
When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity –John F Kennedy. For Ms Jane Adika, her crisis presented an opportunity to her. She first landed a lucrative advertisement deal with the country’s leading telecommunications company, Safaricom in August 2015, in the advertisement “Storo ibambe which featured ordinary Kenyans that gained popularity for their dramatic eyewitness accounts among them James Kang’ethe, a former street boy and better known as Bonoko, Joseph Mburu also known as Jose the witnesser and Alice Wambui, the kifi kifi woman. Their eye witness accounts included floods, robbery, road accidents and kidnapping respectively.
To crown Ms Adika’s window of opportunity was her appointment as the floods preparedness ambassador under the department of special programs by Kisumu governor Jack Ranguma alongside Water and Irrigation cabinet secretary Eugene Wamalwa. Her role would be to educate the masses on floods management considering she has been a victim of the same for many years. She is set to undergo a short training course on disaster preparedness and mitigation to boost her delivery potential on various platforms.
Other institutions that offer a lending hand in a big way include Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL) formerly Equity Bank Group with its Equity Group Foundation with the support of the MasterCard Foundation. It grants secondary school scholarship and leadership training to academically gifted yet economically and socially marginalized young Kenyans, giving hope to bright, deserving children by affording them opportunity to obtain an education and resultant benefits of improved chances of success in life. They have also launched academic airlifts through the equity leaders program that sponsors students to attend global universities.
Key to note, at the helm of their achievements is turning one Kenyan from cattle rustler to Harvard student. The foundation is giving children the wings to fly.
Another is the Ahadi Kenya trust, an NGO whose major activity is eradicating jiggers. It has managed to create awareness, provide treatment to 350,000 patients. Rehabilitation of over 250,000 recovered patients, fumigating over 30,000 pairs of shoes clothing and food in schools and communities. Initiating hygiene clubs in primary schools in Kenya, Initiating bee keeping and banana planting projects to generate income and break the poverty cycle among others.
Despite extensive corruption and looting of public funds and land grabbing that has heralded the country, the common citizens are still embracing the African spirit of togetherness when they come together to help one of their own. Sole individuals and institutions such as EGHL and Ahadi trust Kenya, bloggers like Jackson Zulu, radio presenters like Maina Kageni, celebrities, performing artistes, painting artists and even President Uhuru Kenyatta. Through social and mainstream media, they exhibit kindness and generosity.
It is a challenge to rest of us who have not yet adopted the spirit; politician, elite or commoner, rich or poor always remember John Bunyan’s wise words that “you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
