We knew her as Jirada. I do not know if that was her baptism name pronounced in Kikuyu fashion or what. She was a single mother of two girls, a woman of quiet demeanor and her remarkable journey is quite inspiring.
Jirada was a produce vendor at the OlKalou market when the stalls resembled some shacks in a slum village. She sold all kinds of beans, cooking banana’s (Kigaanda), ripe bananas (Kabara and Miraru) and fruits that were in season like mangoes, plums and pears from Limuru. She also brought Arrowroots (Nduma), Sweet Potatoes (Ngwachi), Gikwa (Yams) whenever she could find them from the bigger market in Nyahururu whose traders sourced their goods from Gikuyu where such foods were grown. Those Gikuyu foods that did not grow in OlKalou are what kept our mother going back to Jirada to see what surprises she had each week. She never disappointed.
Jirada was so good at customer service. She knew her customers very well and knew their preferences. Whenever our mother sent us to town to purchase some groceries like sugar, tea leaves or Kerosene, she always asked us to pass by Jirada and check what she had.
Jirada knew all our names. I give her credit because there were so many of us, looking very much alike and we were not frequent visitors to town. The moment she saw us, she welcomed us like her own children calling us by name. She then proceeded to pack up some items for our mother, telling us “I know your mother will love these sweet potatoes. She has also been asking for Yams, so I saved her one”. After giving us our mothers parcel, Jirada gifted us with a ripe banana each, or a mango and sent us on our way, telling us our mother’s bill is Five Shillings, she can bring the next time she comes to town.
That was the kind of attention Jirada gave her customers. She had cultivated a deep trust with them, mother’s like mine were comfortable with whatever decision Jirada made on their behalf. They trusted she would send them the best product she had, and the price she quoted was reasonable. In return, Jirada trusted that her customers would honor their debt for the goods she sent them on credit. That is first class mutual trust, that is a key ingredient to the success of any business.
