I quit herding to pursue college education, Kajiado man reveals

KAJIADO: “I was born in Impiro village, Kajiado Central, to a polygamous family that had four mothers and 32 siblings - 17 male, 15 female. Ours was a nomadic lifestyle where education was not valued by many members of the family,” says Patrick Masago.

Luckily for him, his father valued education and he supported Patrick’s desire to learn. The young boy’s determination would see him trek some seven kilometres to and from school each day and it bore fruits as he went on to secondary school where he sat for his KCSE in 2003.

“Despite scoring good grades in my examinations, I sat home for about one year herding cows. I was forced to trek to Maili 46, a distance of about 50 kilometres with animals and my younger brother Mark in search of green pastures with our animals. I had to stay there for eight months relying on milk, meat and herbs from the bush,” he recalls.

When drought swept through that area, they were forced to look towards Chyulu Hills in Taita Taveta County. That is when Patrick made up his mind to stop being a herder and go to college.

He left his brother to proceed with the more than 100 animals consisting of cows and goats and made his way to Kajiado.

“The following day, I went to Massai Technical Training Institute seeking to pursue a diploma in Business Administration. Luckily, after explaining my situation to the registrar, he immediately gave me an admission number,” Patrick says.

It was not a warm reception for Patrick when he got back home especially after he expressed his desire to go back to school. Despite his elder brother’s objections, their father instructed that a cow be sold to enable him register for the first semester. Three goats, valued at Sh18,000, were sold to cover his second semester fee. It was, however, not so smooth sailing in the third and fourth semesters.

“We sold a donkey and I was also lucky to receive a bursary from the then Kajiado County Council,” he says. With school complete, Patrick immediately secured an attachment in the County Council and was later permanently employed as a revenue collection officer in 2007 before being transferred to Loitoktok town in 2009.

While there, he applied for and got admission to the University of Nairobi. He joined in September 2010 thanks to a county council education grant that paid Sh457,000 of his Sh571,000 fees.

He sought a transfer to Kajiado town to make it easier for him to travel to Nairobi five times a week.

“I would leave work at 3pm and reach Nairobi at about 5pm. Classes would start at 5.30pm and end at 8.30pm when I’d leave for Kajiado and would often get home at 11pm or sometimes 12am to find my family had gone to sleep,” he says.

Over the course of four years, Patrick would attend six classes on four weekdays and two classes on weekends. His efforts paid off when on Friday December 4, 2015 he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Procurement and Supply Chain.

Today, Patrick works at the county office treasury as a payment officer in the IFMIS department and is now focused on pursuing his masters.

He has also set up the Patrick Masogo Foundation which helps needy children pursue an education and gives food to widows. Four of his siblings are now following in his footsteps and he is paying their university and high school fees.

“I am the first boy in my family to go beyond form four and I am now supporting my younger siblings pursue an education. That is why I am also supporting 29 pupils so that once they are empowered, they too will help others. It will become a cycle,” he says.

His advice to those struggling to pursue an education and those with busy work schedules is that anybody can make it however long it takes so long as they have a vision and are focused.

“It does not matter your background, just stay focused and determined to realise your vision. You will see your dream come true,” he says.