Feature
Even in the face of relentless streets protests over the infamous Finance Bill 2024 and the malaise of high unemployment rate in the country, one man Joel Okoth has always been busy at his makeshift shade mending clients’ shoes with dogged determination to earn an extra coin for school fees and put food on the table for his family.
A Kenya News Agency crew caught up with the cobbler in the aftermath of gunshots and exploding teargas gone silent within Migori town one Tuesday morning. Okoth exuded calm and ease at his grind away from the disturbances that he says cannot deter him from eking out a living for his family.
Okoth’s mien reflects resilience, dedication, and hope amidst widespread disillusionment among young people. The 28-year-old father of two recounts how lack of school fees consigned him to the shoe-mending business he has kept at for the last five years.
He says after completing his KCPE exams, the family did not have money to pay for his secondary school education. Lack of school fees made him opt to look for friends and relatives in the shoe-mending business who taught him the trade. After Class Eight, I could not join high school because of the lack of school fees. My friends in the jua kali business told me to join them and they taught me how to do the shoe mending art,” says Okoth.
The man says that it took him two years to save enough money which eventually enabled him to join a local secondary school in Suna West Sub County. After high school, Okoth says that he chose a different path by venturing into Jua Kali sector which enabled him to make capital to buy equipment to start the shoe mending career.
What began as a simple way of making a livelihood for himself has grown into a lifeline, sustaining not only himself but also his young family and relatives. Every morning, Okoth sets up his umbrella at his open air office, right next to Migori Huduma Centre to shine and mend shoes for customers.
He says his daily income averages between Sh200 to Sh700 enabling him to put food on the table for his family and save part of the earnings for education and purchase of the necessary basic needs. “Many people especially the young people see this job as something beneath them, but for me, it’s been a blessing. Through this business, I have been able to build a life for my family,” he says with a smile.
The proud father of two has managed to provide his children with a stable and nurturing environment. His earnings, though modest, have allowed him to enroll his children in a private school, a luxury many in his community can scarcely afford.
Okoth says what motivates him to wake up every day to come to his workplace is the drive for the money that has enabled him to take care of his family at the level of the middle class, adding that he owes his parents no apologies for choosing the menial job as his lifetime career.
Okoth says he could not afford to be choosy with a job because joblessness in the country keeps growing where the majority of the youths have been rendered jobless.
“It amuses me to see degree holders wondering around looking for white collar jobs that are obviously hard to get. Most of these young, educated Kenyans today spend most of their time drinking third-rate alcohol and using drugs trying to mitigate their stress and hopelessness,” he said.
On the youth-led protests that have rocked the country in the last four weeks driven by an increased rate of unemployment, Okoth says although the youth are right to demand a better country, they should embrace dialogue to get lasting solutions to their problems.
He advises the youth to make themselves available for any job opportunities without being choosy to enable them make a life in the current harsh economic times. One of the challenges he faces is during school holidays when he gets very low number of customers which forces him to do other menial works away from his normal job to maintain daily earnings. He confirms that most of his customers are school learners.
He says increased taxes have also made it difficult to make handsome profits. He is however pleading with both the county and the national government to reduce taxes to enable small businesses flourish. Okoth plans to expand his business by constructing a commercial structure where he can work with little help from well-wishers.
So far, from his small investment Okoth has managed to save some cash that has helped him to purchase a small piece of land to guarantee the future of his family.