Seven years ago at a time like this, I took a long solo trip from Mombasa to Nrb. That was me permanently leaving a city that had hosted me for years throughout college and formative career years.
As expected, people thought a lot of things. That maybe I was running away from something or foolishly running to someone. And I get them. Their concerns were valid especially considering that some were from very close members of my family. People who were genuinely concerned about my leaving a job before finding another one. People who had a lot of legit ‘what ifs’ about my loss of income.
Even I self doubted every once in a while as I was making my plans for exit. Last minute jitters almost got the better of me just before I handed in my resignation letter where I was working. Suddenly I thought I don’t want to go through with this any more and that I still had time to change my mind, sit pretty and continue with life as it was. And it was honestly not a bad life. I had a good job, a good place to stay, and having stayed in Mombasa for years, a solid network of friends.
The excitement of a brand new life saw me through all these doubts though. The idea of shaking up things unprovoked and starting over was such a breath of fresh air. I had such a strong vision of a better future that nothing could stop me.
So why did I move? Because I was feeling stagnant. I was craving a different perspective on life. One that would revamp my spirits and test my limits. And what better way than to move from a calm Mombasa to the mad and chaotic city that is Nairobi?
I also wanted to leave formal employment and try something of my own. Except I wasn’t 100% sure what. Yes I had a good idea that my new work life would take the direction of digital but I had not firmed up on a plan. I was moving semi blindly to a new city with nothing but savings, excitement, and sheer determination.
I didn’t dive headfirst into Nairobi though. I came to the village for about three months for a most important gap between the two cities. To take a break, forget about the rat race of life, and let my thoughts settle unhurried. I also took time to soak in the options, possibilities, and possible pitfalls that lay ahead of me.
The one headstart I had was that I had quite a number of Nairobian friends on Twitter. It was through talking to these friends that after my village break, I came to the city, got an office to work from, got ideas on how to hack the digital industry, and pretty much got my footing over a time shorter than if I was doing things on my own. I also got to know the physical layout of a city in which I was a complete novice. I got help with house hunting, moving, settling and knowing which area was where. Seven years in, I have never looked back.
I’m likening my little story to Safaricom’s 20th anniversary rallying call for Kenyans to break barriers and turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. To take a leap out of the uncertainty and hopelessness that life can present and see hope. For example, I ended up being a full time blogger and influencer through the help of people I had only interacted with online.
How has Safaricom come through for me? First off, through its host of products and programs, it is an enabler to good communication and good communication is everything. I moved to Nairobi knowing that I’m not coming to struggle with that. What if I didn’t have the option of communicating when I want and how I want?
Even now after the onset of Covid-19 I moved to the village and have been working from here. I have fast, strong data full time and have no kinks in accessing my work in Nairobi or downloading and uploading files. I work almost predominantly via zoom and Microsoft Teams so good data services enable me to be at work seamlessly. Then of course I have a strong network for calls and access to M-Pesa, hence cashless transactions. Those are just a few examples to say that for someone who left formal employment to try their hand in digital, I’m enabled to work without setbacks and endless buffering.
In that regard, I would say that Safaricom has empowered me, and thousands of other Kenyans from all walks life to tap into their full potential, break barriers and go beyond. My biggest takeaway from my experiences is that life works. I’m forever grateful that I was able to push myself and move a step further towards my dreams.
Do I have any regrets? No.
