Heroes Not Zombies

The front page of The Independent today carried an amazing story of a Kenyan man, Sammy Gitau. Sammy was born and grew up in the slums of Nairobi, scavenging on the rubbish tips. He found a prospectus for Manchester University and it captured his imagination. He dreamed that one day he’d go and study there despite the fact he only had two years of formal education. However, people laughed at the ridiculousness of his dream so he stopped talking about it. Things got worse for him and he became the main family breadwinner at 13 looking after his 10 siblings after his father was murdered. He earned his family income through drug dealing and theft. Then he ended up in a coma after a cocaine overdose. He survived and said of this experience

“When you are dying you make a deal with God,” he said. “You say, ‘Just get me out of here and I will do anything. I will go back and stop children going through the same kind of life as me’.”

He set up projects teaching slum children skills like carpentry, baking, tailoring and so on and came to the notice of some charities working in the area, one of whose employees heard about Sammy’s dream and helped him apply for a postgrad course in Manchester. They accepted him but British immigration turned him down not believing that he had any chance of managing the university course. Seven months later a judge overturned that decision and Sammy, with financial support came to Manchester.

Today he graduated with a Masters degree and said

“For the past few days I haven’t been able to sleep – I’ve been too excited. So many doors had been shut in my face because I didn’t have this or that. Now, finally, I can think big. Now I can go back to my projects and make sure they do well.”