A while back, I came across a meme that made fun of the Kalenjin community, although in a light manner depending on how you see it.
It said that the only Kalenjins you find in the city, Nairobi for example, are civil servants, those in the discipline forces, and students. They forgot about those in white collar jobs scattered around the city.
I am not privy to other tribes modus operandi but Kalenjins love to be where there are kins or people they share a name with. They will come together in designated entertainment joints run by one of their own, drink (mursik included) and occasionally feast on nyama choma. Basically, we thrive where our own is, and they are not that many in the city.
As a community, we are not very good at business. Rarely do you find a Kalenjin roasting maize or making chapatti by the roadside. Even in Eldoret, or any other Kalenjin dominated town, Kales do not do small business. If a white collar job is not forthcoming, a Kale will swiftly pack his bags and leave the city. However, there are others who have managed to open thriving businesses back at home, where they feel more secure among their own people.
Once a Kale gets a job, the thing he finds more appropriate is to build a home in a land close to Eldoret. It is here that his wife will stay, while he hustles in the city. A good number of Kalenjin men operate like this, even if they are not policemen. The wife and kids stay in the village, or close home, that’s why it is difficult for them to settle in a city like Nairobi. He goes home every weekend.
On a graduation ceremony I once attended, one of the speakers urged the graduand to stay in the city. He told him not to go to the village. Another gave an analogy of a pickpocket down in River Road. He said that pickpockets should have a Kip somewhere in his name. He meant that we should get out of our comfort zones, and thrive like other communities.
#hivisasaoriginal #MyLifestyle