The moment I heard Education Principal Secretary asking parents not to overburden students with house chores during the national exams period, I quickly had to hatch a plan to keep my two Form Three Boys engaged.
In fact, the PS further banned tuition to allow students to rest at home as Class 8 and Form 4 candidates sit the KCPE and KCSE exams respectively.
Anyways, my boys Alutah and Joumo were sharp boys and I knew they would not create mayhem at home.
But I learnt a lesson last holiday when Alutah was reported to have been caught sneaking into the neighbour's home.
“I spoke with your son and told him to always visit us without fear and the door is always open. Sneaking through the back gate when we were about to leave home is a funny yet indiscipline case,” Sarah’s mother told my wife.
This is one of those moments where as a parent, you are torn in between disciplining your son or having an adult talk with him. I chose the latter.
I heard many parents complain that they would have been allowed to send their students to tuition to keep them engaged.
“My boy enjoys the Play Station (PS) games every day,” my friend Lucas who works at the bank in CBD lamented.
“My daughter is quite cheeky. She quarrels with the house help and at times locks herself in the room,” Jane added.
Don’t worry, I helped them to solve their issues. As a counsellor and psychologist, coupled with my communication expertise, the math was a one plus one.
My wife opened an online store on her Instagram. She was quite tech-savvy and with the boys around, they would do the deliveries with our driver, Mose, and also manage the business which was booming.
The love of my life had quite a following on Instagram and Tik-Tok and she chose to sell women’s attire and fabrics.
At first, the boys delivered and were paid cash upfront.
One evening, Joumo came up with a quick idea to sort the payment.
“Mum, so I was researching on how we can expand the business and I realised that if you promote your goods and services on the online space like a website, social media platforms, WhatsApp and Tik-Tok, you can get more customers by accepting online card payments via Chapa Pay that is Co-op Bank’s eCommerce solution!” Joumo stated.
“And you have a Co-op account, we can find a way to ease payment,” Alutah added.
My wife and I read extensively from the Co-op website and she visited her branch for further advice.
“The solution has always been right there with you,” the Co-op bank manager told her.
“You can get more and more customers by accepting online card payments via Co-opBank eCommerce solution! All sellers who promote their goods and services on the online space enjoy this service.
“The interesting bit is that you can still receive online card payments without owning a website. No Cost to You!
The manager added that with Co-op Bank eCommerce the merchant receives a unique link (Pay-By-Link) which they will use to invoice their customers.
“Imagine the best part is that with the Co-opBank eCommerce solution, we will not incur any cost to get the Pay-By-Link solution. It is free to get on board, the solution is secure, because it is 3D secure, with two-factor authentication for all card payments.
“If a customer makes a wrong payment, we can reverse the payment without calling the bank for a reversal,” my wife added.
“So does this mean we can get additional pocket money?” Alutah asked.
“But of course,” my wife added. I gave her that look that reminded her we had agreed on limiting their pocket money.
“We shall consider, based on the profit you guys will make,” she added, squeezing my hand.
My sons, Joumo and Alutah stared in my face. “Dad,” Joumo called.
“Yes, and after work, I’ll want you to adhere to your study timetables,” But of course, I had to sound a little strict