Two days ago, a colleague invited his friends to accompany him to his fiance's parents in Mombasa for the payment of dowry, a traditional event popularly called Ruracio.
Knowing how significant the day was, Jared put in place all arrangements as he looked forward to meeting the parents of his future wife Miriam.
The plan was to travel by bus, hence, they had to leave Nairobi early in the morning to make it to Mombasa on time.
On the day of the event, Jared and his delegation made their way to the bus station where they would book a bus and proceed to the coastal city.
Upon reaching the booking office, they were informed that the morning bus was fully booked and were advised to wait for another bus that would leave within two hours. However, this would see them late for the crucial ceremony.
With the comprehensive arrangements that had been made for a grand reception in Mombasa, arriving for the event late was almost unimaginable and would be a huge disappointment to his fiance.
Disappointed and frustrated, he called Miriam informing her that they would arrive late for the event.
A supervisor of the bus company who was passing by noticed the anxiety on their faces and enquired to know what had unfolded.
After listening to their ordeal, he reminded them that they could still make it in time if they used the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). He also told them that they could make payments for the tickets using M-Pesa.
Jared quickly reached for his phone in his pocket and proceeded to book the seats but did not call his fiance to inform her of the changes.
Using M-Pesa, he paid for the seats and got a confirmation that their seats had been reserved.
He then ordered for Little Cab which hastily rushed the team to the Syokimau Railway terminus.
To Miriam's much surprise, Jared and his colleagues were in Mombasa within four hours, ready for the big occasion. They even had an extra time to relax at the beach.
By sharing his situation with the bus company supervisor, Jared got the idea of travelling through the SGR and managed to salvage the situation.
Just like him, you can also achieve great things when you come together with others to share ideas and experiences. Sometimes, it's that friendly advice that saves the day. Pamoja #Twaweza.
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