Headed to the top- Fadhili Kanini

Success is relative. Or so it appears to many people given the numerous parameters that people put in place to gauge it. However for some, it is the moment they are living as they look back at the long rough road they have had to trek before getting to the present. The picture of that road is rough, usually long and not without huge potholes and obstacles that dot it. It is then that the present comes out as a success story outlined and embroidered with a streak of hope.

Patrick during the interview

For the last five years, it has been the same story for Patrick Dalizu Lwangu, an office assistant at the Daystar University’s Vice Chancellor’s office. Everyday when his alarm rings at 5.30 am, he is reminded of the long trek he has had to walk to get to waking up at that hour, and not to look for a job, but actually to go to one. This was evident as he sank in the posh leather sofa set at the vice chancellor’s office reception.

A calm and collected Patrick

Born 29 years ago, Patrick doesn’t strike you as the kind of a person who has been through hardships to get to where he is. This is because of his demeanour, dress code and character. When we settled to have the interview, he was composed, relaxed and pulls the sitting position of an executive who hasn’t had it rough over in the past.

This is however dispelled as Patrick tells me about his past. Having lost his father before joining nursery school, he was raised by his mom who relied on peasant farming to meet the needs of her family. This however did not stop Patrick from reading hard in order to pursue his childhood dream of becoming either a medical officer or an accountant. The road to his dream got the first major pothole when he cleared primary school and school fees to pay for his secondary school education was a challenge. However, his elder brother stepped in and helped pay for Patrick’s secondary school education at Nyang’ori High School in Western province.

His hard work and effort did not go unrewarded as he got a B(plain) in his form four Kenya Certificate of Secondary (K.C.S.E) exams and had the opportunity of following up on his dreams. As fate would have it, another obstacle lay ahead and this time round, his brother who had paid for his high school education was torn between paying college fees for Patrick or for her elder sister who was joining college as well. Patrick gave his sister the chance for a higher education at his own expense.

A relaxed Patrick tells his story

Having not joined college, he never stopped at that. He heard of a cabin crew job offering and he decided to take the challenge. It would seem that his interaction with top officials did not start in Daystar as at this point, he chose to approach his area member of parliament Hon Musalia Mudavadi, for the job. At the time, Hon Mudavadi was the minister of transport and apparently, as Patrick recounts, the minister had been reserved 5 positions for the job. Given his credential, he stood a chance of getting the job after meeting the minister.

This was never to be as politician never replied to Patrick’s request. It is at this point that he tried out several jobs starting with that of a matatu conductor. He got a P.S.V license for a conductor and worked in this capacity for a while.

This was until he realized that if he continued to work in this industry, he would lose track from his main goal of becoming a medical officer or an accountant. This therefore led him into choosing a job cleaning fridges and kitchen equipment at a company in Nairobi where he would earn a monthly salary of Kshs 4300. He saved part of his salary and enrolled at a computer college, Computek College, where he did a number of certificate courses. He was able to achieve this by doing extra hours over the weekend as he could not be able to be in class during the week due to his tight work schedule.

His breakthrough however came in 2004 when he was employed at Shukrani Caterers as a cleaner. At the time, Shukrani Caterers had been contracted by Daystar University to provide catering services to the university. Patrick’s diligence at the workplace saw him rise through the ranks from being a cleaner to serving, and eventually being a cashier.

During this time, he applied for a Higher Education Loans Board (H.E.L.B) loan by faith that he would enrol at Daystar University.  This dream was about to be disrupted when the catering job changed hands from Shukrani Caterers to Manenda Caterers. However, his immediate boss recommended him to the new caterers and he was taken up. It’s while working for Manenda Caterers that Patrick came across a vacancy announcement for an office assistant at the Vice Chancellor’s office at Daystar University.

He dropped his application and was later called for the interview. Out of the seven who had turned up for the job, he was picked to fill the position. This was is August 2005. During the same period, HELB awarded him a Ksh 50,000 loan. The same was replicated the following year during the January semester. In August 2006, he enrolled for a double major in Accounts and Business administration thanks to the loan advance he had received from HELB and currently, he is doing his last semester in Daystar.

He sees himself being a finance manager in a large organization. He however continues to diligently serve in his capacity as the Vice Chancellor’s office assistant as he awaits graduation in June 2012.

Mrs. Joyce Munyao, office secretary at the Corporate Affairs department Daystar University, describes Patrick as hardworking and a social person though at times too light-hearted to know whether he is serious or not.

Patrick however ses the journey he has made this far as a success story in itself and to him, what he has achieved cannot be gauged relatively. Patrick is definitely headed to one place. The top.