By Mangoa Mosota

She is over six feet tall and 70 years old, but spends the hours between 6am and 5pm every day bent over her crops, tending them lovingly.

Norah Kemunto, Mangoa Mosota’s mother

She achieves this feat bending and kneeling, not sitting. Most women her age while away their time sitting in the shade, their financial needs catered for by their children and grandchildren, but not Tabitha Keire Makori. Despite most of her 13 children having white-collar jobs, she can easily feed all of them. And she is still as diligent as she was half a century ago.

My paternal grandmother’s boundless energy has amazed me ever since I was in nursery school more than 20 years ago.

And then there is my lovely mother Norah Kemunto, 50. She is a primary school teacher, who unknowingly made me a writer.

As we mark Mother’s Day today, I celebrate these two women for leaving an indelible mark in my life — they have taught me that hard work pays. In addition, I have learned from them that perseverance is key to achieving one’s dreams.

Engulfing herself in work

My grandmother’s four-acre shamba yields much more than other farmers in our village. Initially, I thought she was adding more fertiliser or using special seedlings but I was wrong. Her ‘secret’ lies in wholeheartedly engulfing herself in her work.

Thus, at the trading centre, a visitor wishing to buy bananas or vegetables will be directed to our home, where the buyer will find many and a wide variety of bananas. It is my grandmother’s policy to sell her produce and not give out free. I thought she was stingy, but a few years ago it dawned on me that she was passing a strong message to free loaders. I celebrate my granny for teaching me that there should be nothing for free in this world — especially for lazy people in the society.

Mangoa Mosota and his mother. He learnt virtues of hard work from his mother and grandmother. Photos: Courtesy

I have also learnt a lot from her fast pace of walking.

When we attend weddings or funerals that are within walking distance, she often walks briskly and I find it difficult to keep up with her. Sometimes I have to run so I’m not left behind. She does not own a clock or watch, but my grandmother is never late for any appointment.

In Standard One, I hated English lessons — I never got spelling or pronunciation right. But my mother soon changed my attitude. She was my teacher from Standard One to Standard Three and English soon became my best subject, setting the stage for my future as a journalist.

My mother pushed me to keep trying through reading and writing exercises. Later, I developed an interest in the creative use of words.

By the time I joined secondary school, I had made up my mind on my career choice — journalism. I enjoyed reading and found fulfilment through writing!

And because of what my mother taught me, I often remember these words from Boyz II Men’s song Mama:

You taught me everything

And everything you’ve given me

I always keep it inside

You’re the driving force in my life

The best gift I can give my mother and grandmother is to live by their ideals — which they have made clear through their actions. My career involves a lot of time dedication and hard work; virtues I have embraced as a result of the two women who shaped my life.