Not all heroes wear capes and certainly Nicholas Muchami, a 45-year old man from Kaganda village, Kiharu, Murang’a County is one of them.
The tall, lean, ashy-haired man of few words does not resemble a character that mirrors one of Marvel’s Avenger franchise heroes, but to the people of his village, Muchami is hailed as the local hero who has made life better for all.
His story, that went viral on social media, narrates how he tirelessly dug a road up a hill for 10 days straight so that the distance between two parts of Kaganda village could be halved.
Armed with a hoe and a ramrod determination to complete his task to construct a 1.5 kilometre road, Muchami dug from dawn to dusk to dig the road up a hill.
“I work as a watchman at a nearby school and I see that people around the area including children have to walk at least four kilometers to get from one point of Kaganda to another. I decided to dig the road to make travelling easier,” said Muchami when he visited ABC Bank’s head office.
Esther Wanjiku, a social activist and a Kaganda native, was joyously unrestrained when the road was completed and this is what drove her to tell Muchami’ s story via social media, a move that has stolen the hearts of Murang’a residents, local, regional and national politicians, businessmen, mainstream media and other Kenyans including the management of ABC Bank.
Esther, who accompanied Muchami for the meeting at ABC Bank, says that road has inspired other residents in the area to take up ownership of challenges they face while at the same time this road has challenged leaders, across the board, to apply themselves in solving issues that affect their constituents.
“Muchami is an inspiration to us all that we do not necessarily have to have money to solve problems,” said Esther. Since the news went viral Muchami has additionally attracted the attention of businesspeople from as far as Kitengela as well as well-wishers who have stepped forward to show appreciation of his work, and this has been helpful.
Muchami has managed to build the road despite numerous challenges including not having a complete house while at the same time, he does menial gigs to supplement his meagre income.
“Some of the problems that I have include an incomplete house. I would appreciate if my home could get electricity. I would be eternally grateful if I had another dairy cow,” added the soft-spoken man.
ABC Bank decided to make his wishes come through. ABC Bank Treasury & Financial Institutions General Manager Philip Wambua pledged, on behalf of the bank, to buy a high yielding ‘grade’ dairy cow and at least six months of feed and livestock insurance. “In addition to supporting Muchami with his immediate needs we must also provide solutions that are sustainable,” said Philip at the meeting.
ABC Bank will work with Esther to open an account for Muchami with the local milk processors so that he can supply his milk on a daily basis, organize to open a bank account for him, give him financial training and organize extension services to ensure that his cows are healthy, and they can multiply. Bank staff also contributed their own resources to send him back home with an assortment of food and household goods.
