David Mwangangi

David is an ornament maker business man. While our stay here we will try to help him to increase the production of the ornaments. This is his story: 

David is a 21 year old boy from Kawangware, Nairobi. The first born in a family of 13 children.

 David was born in the Eastern province of Kenya (rural area) where he attended primary school. He enrolled for the first year of secondary school in the same province but had to drop out after 6 months for lack of school fees. This unfortunate situation was occasioned by a factory accident that his dad suffered. The family then moved to Nairobi (capital city) in search of other possibilities in life. After sometime, David got admission and restarted his secondary schooling. Unfortunately, the type of school in which he enrolled tended to be more for commercial reasons than for the education of young people. It was not a model school for one who was keen on studying hard and living a straight life. David found the rampant drug abuse and prostitution among some of the students to be unbearable. Midway through his second year, he couldn’t take it anymore and faced his dad on the issue.

“I was harsh with my dad, one of the few times this has happened. Eventually he gave in and arranged for my transfer to my third secondary school in 2006”.

Back at home things moved from bad to worse as his dad lost his employment round about the same time. As a consequence, David was a student in his third secondary school for only three months.

Later on he moved to his fourth secondary school.

This fourth school did not prove to be better than the schools earlier mentioned. In fact, it was not even certified by the government to offer the secondary school certificate. On discovering this, he and his classmates approached the principal and pleaded with him to arrange for them to get registered at least for the final exams in a different school. Eventually, David and his classmates did their final exams in a fifth secondary school in Western Kenya, over 350 km from Nairobi.

This dramatic experience was going on with a background of financial constraints at home. Young David had to juggle between helping at home and studying. He seems to have spent more time out of school than in school between 2003 and 2007.

His experience in school was challenging but it didn’t crush him. Some hope for a brighter future still lingered in his mind.

“After high school I was exhausted and a bit desperate. But life had to continue, so I picked up myself and started looking for a small job somewhere, anywhere.”

The searching efforts bore some fruit when David landed himself a cooking job in one of the local hotels in Kawangware (an informal settlement in Nairobi).

“My job was to make chapatis (a kind of pancake) out of a whole bundle of flour (24kgs) every morning for a Shs. 120 (US$1.5) wage”, David recalls. “What I took home though was Shs. 100 (US$1.2) since I had to pay someone Shs. 20 (US$0.25) everyday for assisting me with the job. Cooking one bundle worth of chapatis is not funny” David reminisces half seriously, half jokingly.

David didn’t last in that job for long. The poor pay and hard work conditions contributed to the decision to quit. Moreover, David had over time developed chest problems which required him to have a lot of fresh air. Unfortunately this was not in plenty in the sooty and smoky Kawangware kitchen.

In December of 2008, David bumped on Benard Matheka, one of his long lost classmates from his third school. Benard had since joined ISBI for some after school courses. “It was he who introduced me to ISBI and encouraged me to enroll in early 2009. I thought that after learning computers I will get a job…I think I was wrong”, David chuckles.

At ISBI, David decided to try another shot in life by taking a specialization in Office Management in the Samsung Real Dreams program.

“I met friendly teachers. They were very patient with us, something that I picked up and am now trying to make my own. I also used to be tense whenever I had to address people, but not any more. Thanks to the discussion forums of the program, I guess I am now over confident. I also learnt how to use computers and did entrepreneurship as well as life skills, tools which I now find to be very useful. But above all, I could say that the course made me a better man, I am not sure I was one before”.

David is aware that although he has had a difficult past, his story is not very unique in the informal settlements of Nairobi. His short but intense experience has opened his eyes and given him the ability of analyzing society’s issues with a critical mind. “Young people don’t know what they are capable of. They only think of accumulating academic qualifications without knowing what will come out of that pile. Unfortunately, our government is encouraging this”, reckons a somber David. He believes that, “to discover oneself takes time and requires some soul searching and attempts at many things in life”.

After the program, David decided to start a business of making and selling ornaments. With some assistance from the ISBI business incubator, David managed to make a simple business plan and gather up the tools for his trade. He now makes necklaces, earrings, bracelets etc, from a secret material. “I met a fellow who was in this business and I took some interest. He demonstrated it to me and I picked up the skill in 30 minutes. I was very happy with myself and I went ahead to finish my first necklace on that same day. I brought this necklace with me to ISBI the day after and I think they liked it a lot. I keep it as a reminder because it marks the beginning of my story in business. Later on I made a necklace and some earrings for my step mother. She liked it very much and wore it on Sunday”.

Through the Samsung Real Dreams program, he was put in touch with a business mentor who is helping him to run his business more professionally. His mentor is a seasoned trader in the artifacts industry in Nairobi.

David’s business has since then, increased in volume and intensity. “I have earned some money from my business and am now able to buy my own things. In future, I want to be able to take care of my family as well. As for the business, I hope to one day dominate the market”, states an animated David.

David is very optimistic about the future. With the skills and confidence gained from his training, he is ready to take on the world.

“Thanks to the program, I am not fearful anymore. Now that I have discovered myself, I must do what my heart tells me”.

 

Stay close if you want to know more about him and his new business.

See you around guys.