This Sunday, I hosted a grandfather. Or, as he is affectionately known in Kikuyu, a Gooka. Not Google.
When I told my 10-year-old granddaughter that I was interviewing a grandfather, she had one question: “Will he bring sweets?”
When I put the same question to Engineer Peter Hiram Nduati, he laughed. “I bring stories,” he said.
At more than 70, Peter is a retired engineer, morning jogger, golfer, tree planter and, perhaps most importantly, a storyteller. He became an author during the Covid-19 pandemic, not because he had always dreamed of writing a book, but because his family decided it was time he put his stories on paper.
His memoir, Gooka: From the Village to the City, went on to win the 2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize. It has since been translated into Braille and adapted into an interactive colouring book for children aged six to 13.
But I did not invite Peter to discuss literary awards. I wanted to understand his approach to grandparenting and why his relationship with his grandchildren seems to go beyond occasional visits, pocket money and sweets.
For Peter, being a grandfather is about passing on something more enduring: stories, experiences, values and the confidence to navigate life.
Ask Peter how he became an author and he will not tell you about attending writing workshops or spending years chasing a publishing deal. He will tell you about emails.
“I always wrote emails to my daughter,” he recalls. “She thought they were nice. My relatives in Italy and America thought they were nice. Years ago, I also wrote letters to my wife and she loved them.”
His emails were filled with everyday observations. A Zoom class could remind him of the chalk slate in his village school, while a boda boda ride through Nairobi could take him back to walking barefoot to school.
His family recognised that these were not merely random recollections. They were stories worth preserving.
For his birthday in 2021, they presented him with a writing course with celebrated Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina.
“It was a trap,” Peter jokes. “You can’t say no when someone buys you a gift.”
That birthday present eventually became Gooka: From the Village to the City, a memoir tracing his journey from village life to the city.
His storytelling offers a bridge between two generations whose childhoods could hardly be more different. Today's children have smartphones, internet access and digital apps to measure their daily activities. Peter remembers walking seven kilometres to fetch water.
“When I do 10,000 steps on this app, I remember we used to walk seven kilometres to fetch water,” he says.
It is a simple comparison, but one that captures his philosophy. Rather than lecturing grandchildren about how difficult life was in the old days, he uses personal experiences to help them understand how much the world has changed.
Peter's grandchildren, aged eight and 10, were among those who encouraged him to take his storytelling further.
After reading his memoir, they told him it was too big for them and challenged him to write a version they could understand.
He took up the challenge, condensing the adult stories into shorter, child-friendly narratives accompanied by illustrations.
But he did not stop there. He left some illustrations uncoloured, inviting children to complete the pictures themselves.
“Children want interaction,” he explains. “Why not remove the colour and make it an interactive book so they can be part of the process? Young children communicate feelings and thoughts through pictures.”
The children's edition also includes questions and lessons drawn from the stories. In Footprints to Fame, for instance, children are encouraged to read about famous people and discover how they overcame challenges, helping them understand that difficulties are part of life.
The approach creates an opportunity for parents and children to participate together. The child colours and answers questions, while the parent reads and helps connect the stories to everyday experiences.
It is not simply a book to be handed to a child to keep busy. It is an invitation for the family to spend time together.
Peter's grandchildren have also contributed to the creative process, improving his illustrations through their colouring. He does not seem bothered when they go outside the lines. After all, the idea is to let children express themselves.
Peter's approach to grandparenting extends beyond books. He and his wife share a passion for planting trees, particularly indigenous species, on their family land.
During the Covid-19 lockdowns, the couple made a habit of walking 10,000 steps together every day. His wife has since returned to work, leaving him to maintain his routine of between 5,000 and 8,000 steps.
“You need a motivator. You can’t do 10,000 alone,” he says.
His wife, whom he describes as his greatest inspiration and soft power, has also been part of his literary journey.
Another important moment came during the pandemic when his masseuse at the Public Service Club, Mary, who is blind, told him that even visually impaired people needed books to read.
Her observation stayed with him. He subsequently had Gooka transcribed into Braille and reached out to Nairobi West School for the Blind.
It was an extension of the same philosophy that inspired the children's edition: stories should be accessible, and no one should be excluded from the opportunity to read.
Peter's book has also attracted positive feedback, including from a German neighbour who wondered why he had pursued engineering instead of writing.
Yet the most meaningful response has come from his grandchildren, whose involvement has helped shape the children's version.
Peter even offers a full refund to anyone who returns the adult book with a 1,000-word explanation of why they disliked it. The children's colouring book attracts a 50 per cent refund because, as he jokes, a coloured book cannot be reused. So far, nobody has taken up the offer.
His approach offers a lesson to grandparents navigating relationships with children growing up in a different world. Grandparenting is about more than sweets, gifts or babysitting. It is an opportunity to share wisdom, preserve family history and help younger generations understand their roots.
“Reading my book backwards, as an elder looking back, gives the young foresight,” Peter says.
His philosophy does not suggest that grandparents should take over the role of parents. Rather, it gives them an opportunity to complement parenting through storytelling, shared experiences and meaningful conversations.