I started out telling you about the OlKalou I grew up in back in the 1970s and 80s before most of you were born. If you have been paying attention, you have realized it was nothing like the OlKalou or Nyandarua that you see today. Some things are definitely better than back in the day while others are horribly worse. None of us gets to chose the circumstances of our birth, but we all have the ability to change our circumstances TODAY.
Our parents did not chose to be born in Gikuyu under colonial rule, but they choose to start a new life in OlKalou, a bold decision that changed the trajectory of their lives and ours. Similarly, you did not chose to be born in a challenging economy, but you can chose to create a localized economy that works for you and can be inherited by your children and grandchildren in decades to come.
The narrative I gave about the OlKalou of decades past was to paint for you a picture that may never have crossed your young minds. The beautiful mansion your grandparents live in today should not confuse you to think you are from a wealthy family. No, you are not. Incase you forgot, read again how life was for your grandparents, the Pioneer Parents, trying to grow roots in a strange land among strangers with minimal resources. They did not start out living in a beautiful brick and tile roofed house with a huge masonry water tank beside it. They worked so hard for so many years before they could reach where they are today.
Not just your grandparents. Remember Jirada, Wanjiku wa Bata. You have only seen her sitting behind a counter running a very successful business. Before she made it this far, her younger years were spent sitting at a makeshift stall in an open air market enduring wind, dust, scorching sun, rain and mud. She shopped for her stock from Nyahururu market and in mid morning, she returned to OlKalou with huge bags of produce and cereal, carrying them on her back from the bus stop on the Nairobi Nyahururu highway near Agip Petrol Station to her stall in the market.
That is what success looks like. Working hard to shape your future.
