Meet Girl Named After Safaricom Network Booster

Safaricom Lemotou.
Safaricom Lemotou.
File

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," William Shakespeare.

Well, a couple from Loiyangalani in Turkana County decided to name their baby girl after the first ever Safaricom mobile network booster to be installed in the area back in 2007.

13-year-old Safaricom Lemotou is currently in class 6 at El Molo Bay Primary School in her home county.

According to her father Mzee Lemotou, alias Baba Safaricom, the optimistic girl was given her name by her grandmother.

A mobile network booster.
A mobile network booster.
File

"Once we heard the name, we really liked it as there was no network in the area. However, once Safaricom set up its first mast in the area, it became easy to communicate with loved ones," Baba Safaricom explained.

The bubbly Safaricom wants to become a doctor in future, despite the challenges the family is facing. Baba Safaricom used to work as a security guard but has had to try fishing because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Certain communities in Kenya are known for naming their children based on the prevailing conditions at the time of birth.

This could explain names such as Amicus Otieno, Bensouda Akinyi among others over the last few years.

It is also common for them to name children according to what they wish for the child, for example Baraka (blessing) Wambua.  

On his part, Baba Safaricom expressed his gratitude to the Telco giants recognizing how communication has changed in vast and arid area.    

Watch Safaricom Lemotou's story below:

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