As a young, poor boy in Riruta Satellite, I used to sit outside the wooden shack that was home to me, my amazing parents and lovely siblings. I used to stare at the sky and watch planes flying overhead.
One day, something stirred inside my nine-year-old skinny frame, and I wanted to fly one day – not as a passenger but as a pilot. God must have heard my thoughts because a few months later, my class at Toi Primary School took a trip to Wilson Airport, where we were shown around and inside planes. I was mesmerized by the engines and the cockpit.
One weekend, I took a bus (Kenya Bus number 4) from Riruta Satellite to Community to the Kenya National Library – something I did every Saturday to read and check out books. On that weekend, I found a picture book by an author called Dale Carnegie. It had a phrase that goes something like this: “Humans can do basically everything an animal can do – swim in water like fish, hop up and down like a kangaroo, walk on all fours like a lion, and even slither on the ground like a lizard or snake. The only thing a human cannot do without the help of machines is to fly.”
The book followed the history of the magic of flight, from the Wright brothers to current jets. I was hooked.
Fast forward: as a student on scholarship in the United States, I was still dreaming of flying. I even got a job at Spokane, Washington Airport so that I could be around planes and pilots, while pursuing my communication career.
Many years later, life happened: family, children, career, no time, not enough money. Then, in 2023, I woke up one morning and decided to transform my dream into a reality.
I enrolled at Ninety Nine’s Flying School at Wilson Airport, in Nairobi. For months, I spent sleepless nights studying, weekends and nearly every evening spent flying. Six months after enrolling, I was able to undertake my solo – fly alone as a pilot in Malindi. A few months later, seven months from the time I started my classes, I was tested, passed and received my Private Pilot License. My dream as a young, poor boy had become a reality. I could now fly as a hobby.
I have been flying, building hours with 99s Flying School and Kenya Aeronautical College until I am a proficient pilot. I have flown and trained on several aircraft in Kenya and South Africa. Today, with over 300 hours, I fly whenever I can to different locations – which is basically every weekend.
I have been recording my flying adventures and now want to share them with all, and especially you, so that every dreaming boy or girl is encouraged – to know that with God, determination and planning, everything is possible.
I have succeeded in achieving my dream due to the support of my family and friends, and especially my children – MCM.
