One of the easiest things in the world is to mistake an outcome for a story. A beautiful home. A thriving business. A failed marriage. A child in an expensive school. A forty-year-old with no savings. Someone who seems to have it all. Someone who appears to have fallen behind. We see the destination and instinctively begin filling in the journey. Hardworking. Lazy. Disciplined. Irresponsible. Lucky. Entitled. Deserving. Wasteful. Perhaps the most dangerous thing about human beings is not that we judge one another. It is how quickly we become certain that our judgment is correct. Because every life has invisible expenses. Not just financial ones. The kind that never appear on a bank statement or a résumé. Some are chosen. Some are imposed. Some are wise. Some are costly mistakes. Most are a complicated mixture of both. One person reaches middle age with very little savings because they spent years paying school fees for younger siblings. Another because they repeatedly made poor financi...
If you live in Kenya, chances are you've had your fair share of traumatic, hilarious, or downright life-threatening experiences on either a matatu or a boda boda . These two transport options are the backbone of our daily hustle, but let’s not sugarcoat things—they are also sources of endless frustration and chaos. Matatus are a cultural phenomenon, doubling as mobile nightclubs, social classrooms, and financial black holes (fare hikes, anyone?). Boda bodas, on the other hand, are the adrenaline junkie’s dream (or nightmare). One moment you’re at point A, the next, you’re airborne over a pothole wondering if your life insurance is still valid. So, let’s talk about the good, the bad, and the outright ridiculous aspects of these transport options and how they can revolutionize Kenyan society (if only they got their act together). Matatu Madness: The Club on Wheels 1. The Glitz and Glamour of Kenyan Matatus Kenyan matatus are world-famous for their graffiti-style art , blasting musi...