Kapseret Member of Parliament, Oscar Sudi, has opened up about the struggles his family had to through while raising him.
The MP stated that he was born and raised in a family that was poverty-stricken and his parents did not own any land, making their lives even more difficult as they had to struggle with getting food and paying rent among other bills.
Sudi narrated how his mother ventured into the illicit brew business to feed the family since the money his father was making could not sustain them at the time.
"My mother used to sell chang'aa (an illicit brew) to feed us. It was very difficult for her since she would get harassed now and then by law enforcement officers like chiefs," Sudi narrated.
His father was a cook at Moi University and since the family did not own land or a home, they were rendered squatters on a vast piece of land that was owned by the institution.
Before moving to the university's land, the family had lived as squatters on a parcel of land owned by the late Mzee Jackson Kibor. Sudi recalled that although his parents were working, their income was so little and the family would even go without food. He went on to explain that the family's fortunes changed when his father turned to the church and gave his life to Christ.
Due to the hard situation at home, Sudi ventured into the charcoal business when he was 11 years old. He worked during the weekends and holidays selling charcoal.
"In primary school, I used to sell different things. I started selling mangoes, bananas and other available fruits. In the afternoon, I would sell scones. By the time I was 12 years old, I bought my first bicycle," he recalled.
"When my father fell out with his boss, they fired him and he started a kiosk at the zebra crossing at Moi University, that is where I would come over the weekends and even during the holidays. I would wake up at 4am to help him run the kiosk."
During this period, the MP was introduced to the matatu business. As the second born in the family, Sudi would go to the matatu terminus and he would take up temporary jobs as a tout.
"I was at the stage and a person I knew called Barnabus had a vehicle and he did not have a tout, so he asked me to work with him that day. We worked for three weeks and he told me that he will give me that vehicle and I should look for a driver," he stated.
The MP's second business idea came when he visited Nairobi to buy a television set. He recalled that he was hungry and when they went to a hotel at the bus terminus, he saw people playing a game of pool and was fascinated by the amount of money they were making.
He added that his business acumen helped move his family from abject poverty and elevate their living standards by a margin.
The vocal MP, who is defending his seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, concluded by asking Kenyans coming from poor backgrounds to make the right choice on August 9 so as to have leaders who will promote their business ideas.
