Last week I went back home to a family that taught me how to be kind through actions and this is the Oyugi family. I remember in those early days of life when having two meals a day was a luxury and I was enrolled in one of the best free public schools in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the town that I grew up in.in the midst of finding it hard to make friends because of a clear socio-economic mismatch. A poor boy in a rich kid’s school and with me being the class errand boy going to buy French fries and pizzas for my classmates to have a share of the food for lunch. From all of that I found a best friend in what was truly a unique partnership, the poorest boy with probably the richest boy in school as best friends. More than that Brian who was my best friend and still is introduced me to the family and this was one very generous family. They took me in as one their own, allowed me to visit their home, and never treated me any differently.
One memory I can’t forget was on this one day when we had just come from school, and I remember brains mother pulling up in their vehicle as they usually did to pick Brian. On this day they were going for shopping, and they asked me to join them to the supermarket. When we got there, brains mom asked both of us to have our own trolleys and buy snacks and that she would pay for whatever we choose. On this day I did buy some new snacks and selected freely and true to her word she paid for the whole of it. And this got me thinking, could be also one day in a position where I make another person’s life better by being so generous as this family was to me?
Long story short, this family, taught me how to be generous, and last week, I went back to say thank you and to show my gratitude, and to tell them I dd not forget their kindness. I also shared with them signed copies of my books including practical skills. True to the word, a little generosity goes a long way, and I am a living example of that and a recipient of kindness which now I strive to share to one and all whom I cross paths with.
#ogwenoimpacts
STEPHEN OGWENO 