Life is an intricate web of fortunes and misfortunes and for Sammy Maina Muchai alias Maina wa Kahiga from Kikuyu; life has been about struggle and sacrifices which he is proud of.
The young man in his early 20s has seen it all in life at such a young age. What amazes people is his zeal to become the best there is in the world through hard work.
Maina is a household name in Kikuyu town where he plies his water selling business. He has a mkokoteni which he supplies 70 jerricans of water daily to his customers majority of whom are market traders.
His routine starts at 5:30 am. Two rounds of supplying water starts off the day before taking a shift to his other business which is finely cutting vegetables – cabbage, kales, spinach among others in the market. From the results, he is a man who has mastered this delicate act of fine vegetable cutting.
Maina also does prepare tasty chapatis and other types of food in general for food kiosks and head out for his main activity of the day which is learning.
By 9 am, he is at the lecture halls of Technical University in Nairobi where he is a student pursuing a degree in Industrial Chemistry, a course he has lots of passion for.
In a past interview with Inooro TV, Maina said that he gained the courage to do these jobs after finding his father cleaning a bar”.
“There is this one day when I found my father cleaning a bar and I felt bad that I have to depend on a parent and that is when I decided that if my father is cleaning a bar, any job that comes up I will do it,” he said.
He thanks his father for buying him his first mkokoteni which he worked with and bought five others on his own that he uses to supply water with. However, went he pandemic struck, he was forced to sell one of his mkokoteni leaving him with only four.
From the earnings he makes, he can pay for his school fees and lessen this burden on his parents who work equally hard in the water selling business.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he diversified his business and started hawking sweet potatoes on his cart not just in Kikuyu town but its environs too.
Not one to forget hundreds of other sufferings, he organized a feeding programme for the vulnerable at the height of the pandemic in 2020. From the profits, he got from his sweet potato business and donations from friends, Maina bought foodstuff to feed over 700 vulnerable families in Kiambu.
“This was something that gave my heart joy and I learned that with a willing mind and a generous heart, we can take care of each other,” he states.
Maina is optimistic that one day through his hard work, he will cross over to the other side and be a testament that hard work is the bridge to use.
His profile on Facebook is an inspirational hub where he documents his journey and preaches hope to the hopeless that there is a better tomorrow.
His other dream is to make sure his parents live a life without struggles as soon as he lands a job, hopefully at the Government Chemist.
