Growing up in the ghetto, one has two choices; use your talent or get recruited into a gang.” Says Mukigi. A young man who has met with the rules and life of a ghetto head-on. Fought to be where he is, occupied his space and stood with his head high. Fate and luck, both crisscrossing his path of life. Lucky he. A man must live. For Mukigi Kenneth, he chose to use his talent for good.
The 3rd year student pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Cooperative Business at The Co-operative university of Kenya, unfortunately dropped out of school with his story untold in April 2015. “When I joined the University in 2013, I was very excited knowing that I would finally accomplish my dreams of being an entrepreneur, but that was slowly fading away” Mukigi recalls.
He knew he had to use his talent in art to make money which would come in handy to paying his tuition fees at the University. Good in writing, a poet, the University noticed him and was taken in as one of the Library Knowledge ambassadors.
Promising his parents that he would be the one to pay his own fees, Kenneth had to think fast as he was out of school and missing out on a lot of school work.
“Knowing Daniel ‘Churchill’ Ndambuki encouraged talent, I did my research about his show and everything that one had to know about him because I knew he was the man to help me,” he explains.
His passion for making portraits with beads was his driving force. After making a portrait on the Churchill show he was turned down but told to do something better. “I did not take that as a disappointment but a challenge to make something that wows Churchill,” he says smiling.
Challenge accepted, Kenneth was able to please Churchill and got an opportunity to present his portrait to him on a stage he had never thought he’d ever stand on; the Churchill show.
Thrilled by the life story of Mukigi and his amazing talent, the former VP of the republic of Kenya offered to pay school fees for Mr. Mukigi in his subsequent year at the university as Churchill paid off his annual fee forthwith. Mr. Mukigi’s joy remains epic.
“Others would call it coincidence but I call it miracle. After the meeting, both Churchill and Hon. Musyoka said that they would pay all of my tuition fees until I graduate.” Kenneth says with a lot of enthusiasm as he is now back in school.
Kenneth Mukigi advices the youths and fellow students not to sit on their talents and use them for good by quoting Leo Buscaglia;
“Your talent is God’s gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.”
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