08/03/2026
Otieno the cobler used to joke at me that I could get old doing mjengo, saying 'Mo... You better get used to this. Embrace this as your job and make it perfect'. He didn't believe my dream of becoming an educator was real. He'd say it with a chuckle, but I could see the doubt in his eyes.
He'd often remind me how he ended up as a cobler - his dad passed away, followed by his mom, and with no one to pay his school fees, his dream of becoming an engineer was crushed. He ended up in the streets, doing odd jobs till he landed in shoe mending 😊. Made me appreciate his jokes, but also fueled my determination.
