Oftentimes, life has a way of redirecting our destinies, and for renowned Citizen TV Swahili news anchor Lulu Hassan, it came disguised as an ordinary phone call.
Her destiny revealed itself through a single phone call from a stranger, a moment she says quietly shifted her dreams and reshaped her future to where she is now.
Lulu grew up with a clear vision of becoming a lawyer. She could picture herself in courtrooms. Born in 1984, she devoted her time to studying subjects that she knew would help her to achieve her dream career.
According to the journalist, she was one of the best History students at school, a subject in which she says she did extremely well and got top marks.
"When I was born, I did not intend to be a news anchor because as I grew up, I wanted to be a lawyer, I really wanted to be a lawyer," Lulu narrated during a past interview on Bahari FM, a coastal-based radio station.
"If I can give you my marks to check, in my high school examinations, I got a grade A in history. I was really focused on the subjects that could catapult me to become a lawyer," she added.
However, after completing her high school studies, she found herself working as a receptionist, a job which sharpened her skills as she prepared for better jobs in the future.
Every day, Lulu received and answered calls from strangers, sent and received messages, and continued with her routine work as a receptionist. However, one ordinary call changed everything.
During the call, a man who Lulu recalled going by the name of Antony phoned and, after hearing her voice, asked if she was interested in journalism, specifically as a news anchor.
"There was a guy who asked me whether I would prefer to read the news. I asked, ‘Have you ever thought of reading the news?’ I answered him, ‘Why are you asking?’ He told me that my voice is too nice," Lulu revealed.
She went on to add, "This is someone I did not know to date, but I only know his name. Again, he saw an advert in a newspaper and told me to give it a try."
After periods of trials and failure, she later landed a role as a presenter at Radio Salaam in Mombasa, which, according to Lulu, paid her Ksh5,000, a fairly sustainable amount at the time.
Lulu would later go on and land a job at Standard Media Group's KTN. At the time, she had met her hubby, Rashid Abdala, who initially worked at Q-FM, owned by Nation Media Group (NMG).
Lulu Hassan revealed that she landed the job at KTN around the same time her husband, Rashid Abdalla, secured a job at NMG. Their careers flourished nicely as they moved to Nairobi, both earning Ksh60,000 each.
"When we were given the jobs, we received the same salary. When we began, we were receiving the same salary of Ksh60,000 each," the news anchor recalled.
During an interview on Bahari FM, Lulu also noted that while most people know Rashid as a journalist, some recognise him as a football enthusiast. But just like his wife, Rashid followed where life led him.
