I moved from Kenya to the UK in 1992 when I was 6 years old with my parents and younger brother. Like many immigrants, my parents were searching for "greener pastures" for us all. Looking at the scenes in the news today, I need to find out which green pastures they found. But nonetheless, I completed my primary and secondary education and finally graduated from Brunel University with a BSc in Business Management and International Marketing.
The last 15 years or so have seen me work in various marketing roles for some pretty interesting companies. This experience has enabled me to travel the world, meet many titans of industry, and develop some good networks across multiple industries which I hold dear to this day.
What is one Fun Fact about Yourself?
I have an interesting surname. From time to time I have managed to bag a free upgrade when I travel with KQ. I also enjoy spending my time in the golf course.
Having lived in the UK from when you were young and being so far away from your home country (Kenya), how did you ensure you stayed connected to your Kenyan heritage all these years and did you find it challenging to do so?
Although I have lived in the UK for over 30 years, within the household, things were very Kenyan. Swahili and Ki-Embu was spoken frequently and we would travel back home to Kenya regularly. So we could never really forget the culture or heritage. The challenges have brought themselves forward in the last 2-3 years when I decided to spend an extended time in Kenya.
Clearly my Swahili is not great and this makes buying things or working with fundis (local artisans) very difficult because once they realize my Swahili is not from around, the price of everything goes up at least twofold. Also the internet never really lets you miss a step with what is happening in Kenya. Watching local news via YouTube and shows like Housewives of Kawangware, Churchill Show and others ensures that you stay connected.
