MWALIMU ANDREW: My moneymaking plans for this holiday

One of my recent regrets is having declined to participate in this year’s KCSE exams supervision.

When I last participated, the payments came very late, and it wasn’t anything to write home about. So when I was asked to participate this year, I refused. There was no way I was going to start waking up early — as early as 4am, only to be paid too little, too late.

HOPE

But from what I gather, it looks like the pay this year is good. What’s more, I am reliably informed that supervisors and invigilators this year have an opportunity to meet a Principal Secretary, a Cabinet Secretary, the Deputy President or even the President himself!

So I am just at home. The first week was okay, but soon, home became stressful, and the quarrels started. Fiolina would not stop reminding me that other teachers are busy making money invigilating exams.

“It’s not difficult work,” she said. “All you do is just distribute exam papers, and sit around as the students write the exams, then be given great meals by the school.” I told her it was not as she thought, even though I regretted having not gone.

Kizito, a teacher friend of mine also did not go for invigilation, and we have been visiting each other a lot and spending most of our time together. He also told me that is wife started giving him a difficult time. We started staying away from our homes for longer periods, and we would oscillate between Kasuku Hotel and Hitler’s; but within a few days, we could not sustain this and we could not afford it.

So we started discussing what money — generating activities we can be involved it.

“I suggest we do holiday tuition,” Kizito said. I reminded him that being December long holidays, no one will care about books, and we will not make any money.

THEY MAKE SH400

Since we all have motorcycles that we have leased out, we decided to take them over and earn the money directly. “Why should Nyayo and my boy be bringing us Sh100 daily when we know they make Sh400?” he asked. Let’s take them and make the maximum Sh400. Getting my motorcycle from Nyayo was not easy. “Wewe ni Sonko na uko na gari, wachana na boda ni ya ma-hustler,” he protested.

With difficulty, Kizito also took away his motor cycle, and soon, we started doing bodaboda business at the market. Initially, the other bodaboda riders did not want us, as they argued that job was below our standards, and that we were likely to beat them to customers. They were right, for I managed to secure a long term tender to take one teacher invigilating exams to and from her station every day.

Kizito was however restless, and money from bodaboda was not enough.

“We are busy in the morning, midday and evening,” he told me last Monday, “How do we make money in between?” he wondered. We thought of what to do.

“I suggest we think about how to make money during Christmas. If we start now we will make good money,” I told him. We held long discussions about what people are likely to buy most during Christmas period.

“Why are we struggling when we all know that come Christmas, everyone will want chicken?” I asked Kizito. He didn’t seem convinced, in as much as I believed I will make a killing if a bought some midsized chicken, over feed them and sell them off at a profit come Christmas period.

I didn’t even think, because business is about taking risks and acting with speed. I called Nyayo and for two days, we quickly constructed a make shift house for chicken. We also made a large enclosure in my compound where the chicken will be roaming in the afternoons.

AT HITLER'S

We finish the work last Wednesday. And since then, I have been walking around buying midsized chicks from neighbours and taking them home. Every day after my trips, instead of going at Hilter’s, I go to buy chicken.

“When we were working at Kenchic, there is a certain injection that once we injected the chicken with, their appetite would go up, they would swell and double or triple their size within a week,” said Nyayo. “The chicken you bought at Sh200, you will sell it at Sh1,000 at the very minimum.” Nyayo told me the drug needed was not expensive, and that three weeks to Christmas, we will go with him to the shop at the county headquarters where he will buy the drug. He would only charge me for injecting, at Sh25 per jab.

I think I will be rich this Christmas, and will not experience the January blues that common mortals go through. You can start making your orders for Christmas today. For original, delicious, Kienyeji chicken!