Determined to succeed

Josphat Mokua

Josphat Mokua, 23, has faced the pain of being an orphan left to fend for himself and his younger siblings at a tender age, but he adamantly refuses to give up. He has even authored his biography. He spoke to THE DUDE CORRESPONDENT

Where do you study?

I am a third year student of Economics at Maseno University. It has been a struggle to get here, but I have probably done only a quarter of the journey.

What drives you?

I can testify that where there is a will, there is a way. It is only those who refuse to give up that finally make it. I have authored a book about my life from the gutters of Kibera to university. It paints a picture of what my life has been until now.

Tell us a little about how it has been like?

It has been tough, but I realised life has to continue despite all the challenges. 

What was the inspiration behind your book?

It is the story of my life and I hope it will inspire many other young people from the slums and other parts of Kenya. Through reading the book, people will realise that although life is full of hardships, the strong-willed can overcome them.

Tell us something about your childhood

I do not know my biological father, but my mother and stepfather raised me.

How was life under such a family set up?

My mother was the second wife. Life was hard, but things took a turn for the worst when my stepfather passed on in 2003.?

What changed?

I was in Class Seven then at Mashimoni Squatters Primary School, an informal school situated in Kibera. I was lucky to get a scholarship, which took care of my school fees and other educational needs until I completed primary school. With my mother being widowed, we got to know how important our stepfather was in our lives. Everything changed.

How did it go with schooling?

I did well in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and secured a place at Lang’ata High School, but my mother did not have the money to pay school fees. We are three children and I was the eldest. The others also needed to get some basic education.

What happened after that?

Help came in the most unlikely way. Call it plain luck, but I acknowledge that it was God’s intervention. Mum and I quarrelled one night because I was pushing her so hard to get money for my high school fees. Each of us was shouting at the top of our voices. A neighbour heard us and came to enquire what the matter was.

When he got in, we stopped shouting and he asked what the cause of the war of words was. When I explained, he was touched and offered me Sh2,000 to pay and report to school.

That must have been a relief…

At that moment, yes, but when I took the money to school, the principal refused to allow me in because it was not even half of the fee for the first term. The admission fee was Sh8,900, so I went back home dejected.

So how did you manage to get back to school?

I told the neighbour what had transpired and surprisingly, he added me another Sh2,000, which I took to school and was allowed to be in class on condition that I would clear the balance before the term elapsed.

What followed next?

I must say I was always on the right side of things because as soon as I joined Form One, my performance started speaking for itself and that became the last school fees I paid. The school offered me a scholarship, which kept me in school for the next four years.

What was happening on the family front?

My mum was still struggling to provide for us and each of us knew that our future was in our hands and we had to work hard and make it in life. Mum did her best to ensure that we always had food.

There wasn’t even a relative to help her?

Nobody would help because my mum had only one child with my stepfather, so we were regarded as outcasts. We were not welcome in our stepfather’s family. We were not entitled to anything in that family because they regarded our mother as a concubine who, together with her children, deserved nothing but contempt. We could not be allocated land or any other property back in Nyamira.

Then what?

If things can go wrong, they will. In December 2008, just after I completed my final secondary school examinations, tragedy struck; our mother passed on and life nearly stopped.

What did you do?

Being the firstborn, I was inadvertently elevated to the head of the family. This meant I had to provide for my siblings. The only link between us and the family in Nyamira was gone and we were on our own.

Then…

Life had to continue and thankfully, when the results were announced, I was thrilled that I had scored a B+ of 70 points. This meant I would secure admission to a public university. But this would be a year and a half later.

What did you do as you waited?

I did menial jobs to keep my family afloat. My two sisters looked up to me and my duty was to ensure they were comfortable.

What happened when you joined campus?

Even at Maseno University, I had to keep sending money home every month to keep my siblings going. I would send at least Sh2,000. I still do this. My sister has completed Form Four at Kibera Girls Soccer while our last-born is in Class Seven.

Tell us about the book…

It is called My Life from Scratch. I am sad that I was duped into printing it by a quack publisher in Nairobi’s River Road who charged me Sh7,800. I did not know the dynamics of publishing, but now I know better.

So what are your plans for the book?

It is now with one of the major publishing houses and I hope it will soon be released so that it can act as motivation and encouragement to many young people. I also hope to make some money from it to better my life.

Do you have any other plans?

I believe this is my first publication. Now that I have knowledge in economics, I want to be an entrepreneur and further my studies.

Any final words?

Getting an education should not be the end of our dreams, but a means to a better end. Our lives must impact others. Nothing much has changed in my life, as I stay in Kibera with my siblings during the holidays.