Someone once said, ‘Nairobi ni Shamba la mawe’. The truth behind this statement can only be comprehended by the few who have tasted it.
It’s quite interesting how people living in the village always believe that anyone who works in Nairobi earns good money and is automatically rich. That’s why once you’re in the city, you are likely to get random calls from your village folks seeking financial bailout.
Sometimes, it gets to a point where one has no idea on how to sustain themselves in Nairobi, or lacks a decent job, which makes them resolve to whatever comes their way.
Some of these are very tough and demanding that cannot be understood by the public or clients, since they think that you need more effort to earn more.
Kenyans.co.ke scanned the environment, sampling such jobs that will drain you blood and sweat before you get a coin, and the pay is unsustainable.
Here are some of them;
- Cart Pushing
I travel a lot and I visit the village every month. I get to the bus stop in the Central Business District, and hire a cart immediately.
I remember paying the cart operator only Ksh 60 after ferrying two suitcases. Well, I was extremely happy that I had not spent much on that.
After a week, I wished I met that guy to give him triple the amount I had paid him earlier and possibly apologize.
You may not know, but some of these people go a whole day without any business. What is more depressing, is that some hire these carts for Ksh 70 daily, regardless of how the day pans out.
No matter what happens, these people will come back to the market, since they have no alternative.
- Carrying Luggage with No carts
If you have never looked for a job for years, then you do not know what it’s like to hustle. People who don't have carts in Nairobi but are ferrying luggage, turn to their body strength for survival.
When they think of paying Ksh 70 daily, which is a lot to them, they prefer to carry the luggage on their backs and heads.
Well, this gets tougher because travellers usually have a number of heavy loads, which have to be transported in a single trip.They are now forced to be under the sun the whole day, just to ensure they get at least one or two clients, and be guaranteed a meal for their families.
- Street Preachers
I know that when a person is on the streets or in a bus preaching, you say he or she is serving God, and they should just preach and leave.
But has it ever hit you that when you live in Nairobi, you have bills to pay daily, and you will not just volunteer nourishing the public spiritually with no pay (offering).
That is a real hustle they have chosen, and everyone earns from their job. It is what pays their bills, no matter how you look at it.
- Food hawkers
When commuting very early in the morning in Nairobi you will meet spirited Kenyans with buckets of mandazi and a huge thermos. Their coffee is out of this world. The size looks like a shot, but I’m certain you won’t regret it if you try it.
Well, this one is not like a your usual hotel where you pay for the ambience and the waitress' cologne. For only Ksh 20, your coffee will be served. So hot is that concoction that it can peel off your entire digestive system.
The mandazi will leave you Ksh 10 poorer, but its sheer size, will give you a smile. With the twenties and tens put together, food vendors dotting city streets, make ends meet, but definitely, not for the fainthearted.
- Snacks promoters
The first thing you know when you hear of a promotion is that profit in this case is sidelined.
People usually sell sweets and chocolates in buses, and this is a hustle whose profit is so low, that you have to be very cautious.
These people surely go a whole day without food, moving from bus to bus, convincing people to buy from them.
You have probably been in public service vehicles before, and you can tell how many people buy these sweets and chocolates.
This job is one which you cannot do if you do not have high convincing power. You know you have to work yourself out, but you make so little at the end of the day.
- Magazine Sellers
None of my friends spend time on magazines. I don’t know if they prefer going online or they are just ignorant of many issues of human interest.
Actually, I have not seen anyone in my age bracket buying a magazine in the streets. Everything we want, we can get it online.
You find people in the CBD selling magazines on different topics, including property. One out of 50 people are interested in such, but this is still not a daily guarantee.
I don’t know if it’s just me, or why would you buy a whole paper just to find out more about property or real estate?
So just try to think about it. Not all of these pieces are timeless, and so, if you do not sell them out on time, they will have to go to waste.
Magazines are not expensive, and they cannot be since people have the internet as a substitute. So, what you end up getting out of it is barely enough.
- Matatu touts
I am certain that you know of these people at the bus stops on highways, who attempt to entice customers into the vehicles. Seemingly, their job description includes shouting the whole day.
On average, a conductor gets an average of only Ksh 20 for a few passengers they attract. Imagine that.
On a good day, if you work with 200 vehicles, you get Ksh 2000. If it was your hustle, do you think you would have the strength to do that?
This is tiresome, since your hard work is what determines whether you will get something good or not.
You have to be on your feet all the time, shouting and sometimes even arguing with other PSV service providers who do not want to pay you.
- Street Sweepers
Nairobi residents are so annoying. There are regulations to be followed to the latter, but not even half the population abides by the rules.
That’s why there must be sweepers on the streets almost all the time, clearing the mess made by the public.
It’s a dream to make Nairobi city an international destination, and work has to be done.
Well, if you were working as a cleaner in the United states, you would get Ksh 35,000 monthly.
I don’t even have the boldness to tell you how much Kenyan street cleaners earn, and this is so depressing.
As others may consider such jobs indecent, some have no other option. It is very common to find a matatu tout with an undergraduate certificate, but finding jobs is a nightmare.
Some have parents, and some have bills to pay. As long as they have no alternatives, they have to stick to what they are doing right now.
