From an employee to a hustler

NAIROBI: Joseph Njoroge, 39, is still energetic and raring to go places. The father of two was in a steady job for twelve years before the company he worked for closed its doors for good.

It is said the company, known as Jales, had its base at Freehold, Nakuru town before its owners decided to move the shoe-making firm to Nairobi, effectively rendering all its employees jobless.

During his tenure as an employee, Njoroge was leading a comfortable life thanks to a good paycheck at the end of each month.

He could also afford a few shillings to indulge himself in some pastimes but the script completely changed with the layoff.

However, rather than lapse into self-pity, the man with an indefatigable spirit resolved to do something. There was a family to feed!

He began by doing lowly, odd jobs in his home village of Wanyororo ‘A’, which ranged from tilling shambas to working as a casual at construction sites.

After a brief stint in what he refers to as ‘job nomadism’, which is to hustle from place to place looking for work, he decided to settle at one place.

He rented premises at a busy shopping centre and decided to try his hand as a bike mechanic and a cobbler.

“I wanted to settle at one place instead of moving around looking for odd jobs,” he says.

He worked for five years in his new calling until the recent proliferation of motorbikes in the area made him determined to own one.

His savings did not allow him realise his dream and Njoroge opted to sell a young bull he was rearing for Sh40,000. He topped up this amount with Sh15,000 from his savings. That was enough to buy a relatively new motorbike from one of his customers.

Today, the jack of all trades, cobbler, mechanic, boda boda operator, takes home a daily profit of Sh800 when business is good, with low returns averaging Sh500.