- Charles Kadima bares his soul, recounting the soaring highs and heart-wrenching lows that have defined his journey over the years
- Kadima's narrative starts in 2011, when his academic dreams were shattered by the abrupt cancellation of his scholarship
- Fueled by frustration, he ventured into modelling to finance his education, but the path was fraught with challenges
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In a heartfelt TikTok video, Kenyan author Charles Kadima opened up about his rollercoaster journey, detailing the highs of success and the devastating lows that followed.
Why did Kadima drop out of school?
Kadima's story began in 2011 when his dream of pursuing higher education took a hit with the abrupt cancellation of his scholarship just before his end-of-year exams.
Fueled by frustration and anger towards his parents, he turned to modeling to fund his education but faced challenges securing enough gigs.
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"As a young man, I took it on my parents. I became furious, and I became angry with everybody, so I left home for Kikuyu, I started modelling, aiming to raise some funds so that I could be in school, but this didn't go well because I couldn't get enough gigs to keep me in school," he recounted.
"So I decided to drop out of school in 2012, May and I went to look for a job. No school could hire a teacher with no certificate," he added.
Sharing his life journey in a now-viral TikTok video, Kadima said in 2012, he made the difficult decision to drop out and seek employment.
Undeterred, Kadima approached Great Vision Girls High School, where his determination caught the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Bocha.
Kadima shows his teaching ability despite not having a certificate
They provided him with an opportunity to prove himself as a volunteer.
Living in a house constructed by the school, he immersed himself in various activities, eventually earning recognition and a promotion to boarding master with a salary of KSh 22,000.
"These people were very good, they constructed a house as I watched. I could do extra hours, I went into music and drama, I did everything, and it didn't take long before these people noticed me," he said.
"I worked for two months without getting a salary. There is this amazing lady by the name of Jane, who was the matron. This lady could save the student's food for my dinner, and that is how I survived," he added.
Saving diligently, Kadima joined a Sacco, accumulating close to KSh 900,000 in savings in five years.
"After two months, these people had noticed me, and I remember being called into the office with a promotion to work as a boarding master and a KSh 22,000 salary. On book, I used to earn KSh 17,000, but I used to be given something extra every month as a reward for my hard work," he recounted.
Things start working out for Kadima
" I joined a Sacco, and I could save KSh 15,000 every month, I never changed my lifestyle just because I had a salary, in fact, this motivated me to work even harder. I worked there for five years, and I got greater pastures that ended up changing my entire life," he added.
This financial stability empowered him to publish his first book, Carry On, which became a commercial success.
With newfound wealth, he returned home to build a permanent house.
"I was not there to do anything but to build my very first house, we call them Simba, I had met an amazing woman who is also the mother of my late son, who had also done well for herself, so the two of us were a force to be reckoned with when I went home to tell my parents that I wanted to build my very first house, and mentioned that I'm doing this permanent house, this news wasn't received well. At first, they were afraid that I may attract bad eyes in the village," he recounted.
"I go into history as the first man in my entire village, and I stand to be corrected, a man of my age, to build a permanent house as his first Simba. I also go into the history of my father's sons to build his own house. My dad, being a very good father, built all my brothers their houses, and to top it all, as I was building this house, I was building another house in Kisumu for my retirement. I had bought land in Kisumu, and I was building my home without having told anybody, I was in this race to prove people wrong," he added.
Things were looking up for Kadima, and he even published his second book, Born in Blood Birth, which earned him KSh 800,000 in royalties in the first year.
Things fall apart for Kadima
To increase his income, he purchased a vehicle, which he used to transport 30 children around Lang'ata constituency, earning him an extra KSh 40,000 every month.
He was living a good life. However, Kadima's fortunes took a turn for the worse. In 2019, he faced the heartbreak of losing his marriage and job, followed by a near-fatal accident.
Tragedy struck again in 2021 when he lost his son, as recounted by Kadima to TUKO.co.ke
These hardships led to a downward spiral, causing him to lose book deals, stop writing, and fall into debt, even risking the auctioning of his car.
Despite the challenges, Kadima remains resilient, attributing his survival to divine intervention.
"In January 2019, I lost my marriage and I lost my job, same year, I was in a very bad accident that nearly killed me, two years later, I lost my son in May 2021,' said Kadima.
"This took me into a series of crazy depressions, I went into debt, I lost my book deals, I stopped writing, I stopped working, and I literally became a beggar on the streets. I lost my car, I'm almost being auctioned because of a bad debt that is defaulted, but I'm working on it," he added.
He emphasised the importance of faith and aims to inspire others through sharing his story, underscoring that success often involves navigating the edge of disaster.
As he rebuilds his life, Kadima encourages others to believe that nothing is impossible with faith.
Man recounts losing KSh 60k monthly job
In a related story, Llewellyn Ouya, a former Internal Auditor, shared his journey of losing a KSh 60,000 monthly job that, surprisingly, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Ouya, who poured his heart into his role, detailed the responsibilities he held—overseeing transactions, managing ten branches, and implementing systems to curb internal theft.
Despite his efforts to bring stability to the company, he found himself on the receiving end of a sudden termination.
"One day, I went to work as usual and was fired within 2 hours. Yes, I was fired at around 8:30 am!" he in a Facebook post.
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