Meet Rosemary And Lang'at, Two People Who Went Against All Odds To Pursue Their Dream Careers.
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| Rosemary sowing off her new skills, Lang'at in his graduation gown and The Director Mr. Kahoya talking to the press |
This was exactly the drive that landed Rosemary Wambui and
Japheth Lang’at to Nyakio Plant Operator and Driving School in Thika Town.
All her life, the love and passion for working with big
machines has been the dream job for Rosemary, a mother of four from Ng’araria,
Kandara Division of Murang’a County.
Talking to Thika Town Today during the graduation ceremony
of 24 graduates who had successfully undergone the course, she said that her
heart had never been at peace with any job she previously had.
“Ever since I was a
young girl, I had this urge to work with big machines. Every time a bulldozer
passed or worked on our neighbourhood roads, I would spend the whole day
admiring how these drivers operated them. I prayed to God to one day let me land
in such a job. I thank God and Nyakio Plant Operator and Driving School that
now my dream has come true,” she said.
Rosemary has worked in various fields and also tried her
luck in business but her heart has never settled to any of those endeavours.
Therefore, when she came to learn about this college, she convinced her husband
to let her pursue her dream, a plea that he gracefully allowed her to go ahead
with.
Rosemary now hopes to get a job and start on her new career.
She also has plans to, in future, advance her driving skills via learning how
to drive a trailer.
To her fellow women who still regard some jobs as
exclusively meant for men only, she says, “What a man can do, a woman can
perfect it. Watch this space!”
Lang’at’s story is quite a puzzle to many who know him. He is
a university graduate and a trained teacher. Being the son of teacher and a
retired Kenya Defence Force (KDF), the most ideal thing for his parents and the
society was to pursue a career that guaranteed him a white-collar job.
His parents saw him through school to a point where he
graduated as a secondary teacher. He was posted to a girls’ school in his rural
Bomet County where he taught for three years.
But as fate would have it, he kept feeling that he was in
the wrong profession and always sought ways to shift to his dream job, a plant
operator. The education system in the country where learners were taught to
depend on theoretic approach to life’s challenges was one big huddle that kept
bagging him in the profession to a point of hating his job even more.
“As a nursery school boy, I used to sneak away from my mom’s
watch and hide to admire bulldozers, excavators and graders that were in a
construction works near our home. I got so worked up in this dream that I found
myself drawing these machines every time I had the chance. I made up my mind
that this was my destiny,” said Lang’at.
“A few months ago we
had a very intensive discussion with my parents who, after noticing my resolve,
agreed to let me join this college. I am very glad today that I finally have an
opportunity to pursue my dream career. Kipendacho moyo ni dawa. Na mimi sasa
keshapata dawa yangu (What the heart desires is medicine to itself. And right
now I have gotten my cure),” he concluded.
The director and proprietor of the institution Mr. Daniel
Munene Kahoya encouraged more young men and women to join such institutions saying
that qualified plant operators were in short supply in the country. He added
that this was the reason that whenever foreign contractors came to the country
to construct roads, majority of these machines were operated by the foreigners.
“Our youth should be trained in this kind of skills. Plant
operators are a very lucrative venture and it pays even better than white
collar jobs. Education is about liberating one’s mind and that is what we do
here at Nyakio,” he said.
Kahoya equated his institution to a rehab centre where he
used it to rescue youth from all over the country from the yoke of alcohol and
drug abuse. For this reason, he appealed to the government to come on board and
assist poor but talented youth in the villages with bursaries.
“What I charge here as fees is quite little, just a small
amount to maintain these machines and feed the students. What I am doing is
very consistent with the government’s Vision 2030 by cultivating in the
innovativeness of the youth. I would
request them to assist some of these young men and women with bursaries,” he
added.
To the youth out there wallowing in misery, Kahoya had this
to say, “Dreams make one take chances but it is those chances that bring more
opportunities. The greatest mistake one can make is to continually fear to make
one. Accomplishing your dreams only sparks even bigger dreams. These graduates
here are an inspiration to a lot of youth and women out there who wait for
other people define them with what they tell them. Take the first step now and
come and try us.”
“If you can’t believe in miracles, then believe in yourself.
When you want something bad enough, let that drive push you to make it happen.
Sometimes you will run into brick walls that are put there to test you. Find a
way round them and stay focused on your dream. Where there is a will there is a
way,” he concluded.
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