Don't sell people an incomplete map and then blame them for getting lost. I've been sitting with that thought for weeks because the more I look around, the more I realize that many of the frustrations we carry as a society are not simply about unemployment, corruption, inequality or even money. They are about the stories we tell one another. From the time we are children, we are handed maps for how life is supposed to work. Study hard and life will work out. Get a degree and you'll find a good job. Work hard and success will follow. Save consistently and you'll become financially secure. Find your passion and the money will come. Marry the right person and everything else will fall into place. Believe in yourself. Think positively. Stay disciplined. None of these statements is entirely false. But none of them is entirely true either. The problem is rarely what they say. The problem is what they leave unsaid. Because what is omitted from a story is often just as powerful...
In Kenya, inheritance is a mystery novel with missing pages. Parents buy land, build businesses, invest in property, but when you ask about the future, suddenly, it's 'God’s plan.' The same parents who struggle day and night to provide will let their children battle through terrible jobs instead of integrating them into family businesses. Why? The Kenyan Parent’s Mindset: “I Suffered, You Must Suffer Too” If you ask many Kenyan parents why they don’t teach their children about their businesses—whether it’s a successful dairy farm, a well-stocked kiosk, or a thriving matatu business—the answer is often, “Si mimi nilianza na zero, hata wewe utaanza na zero.” Translation? “I started from nothing, so should you.” This suffering Olympics mindset is why many Kenyans graduate straight into struggle while their parents have assets that could cushion them. Farming is for ‘Shamba Boys’ but Not Their Children Take a family that owns acres of farmland and makes a solid income from far...