u/AirFickle9111

Juzi around 11–11:30am, nilikuwa kwa nyumba scrolling TikTok when internet ikaamua kunisaliti 😭

Before it went off, I was watching discussions about abortion laws and everything around it. People were debating from every angle—religion, women’s rights, responsibility, survival… ilikuwa tu heated conversations everywhere.

Then internet ikaenda.

So I stepped outside kiasi, thinking maybe I’d catch the guy who fixes WiFi huku estate (hupita randomly sometimes).

Where I stay, noise outside is kawaida tu:
boda bodas arguing, kids fighting, football debates turning serious for no reason, wamama wakikosana over random things 😭

So at first I ignored it. I thought ilikuwa tu zile kelele za kawaida.

But after a while, people were still gathered near this swamp area yenye kuna reeds na dumped stuff since mvua haijanyesha.

So I decided kuangalia from the balcony.

At first I just saw people standing there and dogs moving around the bushes.

Still didn’t think much of it.

But curiosity ikanishinda, so nikashuka third floor so I could see properly (iko almost eye level na hiyo place).

That’s when I heard wamama talking lowly.

One of them said:
“Hata ni mtoto… ni kakijana tu kametupwa.”(like a one day infant )

And  I felt touched in a way I can’t explain.

Because minutes before, I had been watching people online debate abortion like it was just another topic.

Then suddenly real life ilikuwa hapo mbele yangu.

What made me wonder is how fast blame always goes to the mother in situations like this.

People instantly ask:
“Mbona afanye hivyo?”
“Mbona azae?”
“Mbona atupe mtoto?”

But rarely do we ask what leads someone there in the first place:
fear, poverty, pressure, abandonment, mental health, desperation…

Life huku nje is honestly getting harder for many people, and sometimes I feel like we only notice people after something has already gone wrong.

I’m not judging anyone or defending anyone.

I’m just asking genuinely:

What do you make of situations like this?

Where does society come in?
And how do we help before things reach this point?

 

Nairobi job interviews will humble you very fast 😭

Last week I attended an interview in Rongai after applying for an internship/entry-level job online.

I had applied through one of those job sites and selected “employment” kwa application. After a few minutes, I got the usual automated email, then another message saying they were impressed with my CV and wanted me to attend an interview.

Mimi hapo nilianza kuona future kidogo 😭

So the interview was scheduled two weeks later. I woke up early, dressed vizuri, official shoes, official shirt… mambo ya “The early bird catches the worm'' 😂

The company was called Mfanobora, somewhere near African Nazarene.

Getting there was already confusing because the place is not even visible vizuri. Someone just points you down some road like unatafuta beshte yako town after amekwambia ako mahali hujaiskia town.

I finally got there and the office ilikuwa kwa unfinished building.

Outside I met two guys wenye pia walikuwa wameitwa interview. We entered together and found almost 50 people already seated there on dusty plastic chairs.

And kusema ukweli, the place was not giving corporate vibes at all.

People were in slides, Crocs, dusty desks everywhere. Then there was this office where people were removing shoes before entering and I was just there like:
“Eh… kwani ni interview ama chapel''😭

So while waiting for my turn, this lady comes and starts collecting documents.

Finally I reach the desk and she asks for 120 bob for the registration form.

Ati you must pay first ndiyo upewe form ya kuapply.

That was my final red flag.

I asked her:
“Mbona nilipie form ya kazi?”

She just replied:
“Kama hauko comfortable ni sawa.”

Mimi nikasema:
“Sawa, nifungulie gate.” 😭

Outside, I started searching the company online but sikuwa napata straight answers. So I called my friend mwenye alikuwa anatafuta IT job sometime back and immediately I mentioned the location near African Nazarene, he started laughing.

He told me:
“Bro, hao huomba pesa.”

At that point intuition yangu ilikuwa already imeniambia hii story ni jaba.

As I was outside thinking whether to leave, the same two guys I had met earlier came out telling me they had already paid and proceeded to the “next level.”

One of them alikuwa anaambiwa:
“kama ni attachment unataka Tuma 4,000 kesho by saa tano tukukonnect.”

Mimi hapo nikajiuliza:
Why are people paying money to look for unpaid work? 😭

Then it reminded me of another time nilikuwa desperate job hunting nikajipata AIM Global pale nyuma ya Nairobi Cinema.

Those ones at least walikuwa wamevaa suits vizuri 😭

You enter and find motivational videos playing loudly ,utapata hizi TED talks za millionaires, inspirational stories za kina Steve Harvey na akina Oprah Winfrey 😂.Wewe ukiona hivo just know you are the product.

Then they start showing flashy cars, talking about “international companies,” referrals, 10K investment… mzunguko ya pesa tupu.

Nairobi kweli inaweza kukufunza character development haraka sana 😭

Honestly, unemployment imefanya watu wengi desperate and some of these places know exactly what they’re doing.

Any place asking for money before employment, mimi husema tu:
“God bless you and your business” then I leave 😭

 

So during this period, I was kind of broke. I didn’t have a side hustle or anything, so I was just out here looking for money.(like 4years ago)

I remember meeting up with my friend and she comes to me telling me that her friend had DMed her about this place. Ati you just pay 200 to start and the more referrals you get, the more you’re paid. She told me there was a meeting the next day and asked me to come.

At the same time, we had also applied for a job on JiJi. It was something to do with customer care, like talking to clients in a shop. So she called them. They told her the interview would be the next day at 9. She told me to call too, so I did. The guy picked up and told me, “Kuja tu kesho at 9.”

Nilianza kushuku kidogo, but I was like, let me just go and see. The friend and this job on JiJi are the same thing for context.

So the next day, we dressed officially. You know those clothes you wear for a receptionist interview. We showed up looking serious.

When we got there, we found a setup that already felt off. There was a TV playing those motivational talks and we were like 200 of us . At the entrance, they asked for our IDs. Then they told us we had to pay 200 for training.

N/B: for the job no documents are required, just carry your ID. That was my first red flag but I just decided to continue.

Immediately, I told my friend, “Mimi silipi. I’d rather eat my money. I’m leaving.”

My friend was like, “Usiende, just wait.”

I told her no, but she insisted and ended up paying for both of us. So we went in.

Inside, these people started branding themselves, telling us their story, how they started, how they’ve grown, all that talk. Flaunting their expensive cars and telling us how we would work with international companies. I leaned over and told my friend, “We should just leave. This is bullshit.”mbona wanatuonesha vitu zenye wamepata ndo tujoin.

But she was like, “Let’s just listen.”

So we stayed.

By the end of it, we realized the real deal. After the 200, you’re supposed to bring 10,000 and attend some webinars. Then you get paid through referrals. If you bring someone else to invest, you earn from that. I don’t even remember the exact figures. Ilikuwa tu mzunguko ya pesa. in my head i just wondered in what world would i be be broke na nikue na 10k ya kupea mtu mbona asinipee na yeye asha achieve .

The company was called AIM Global. they even asked us to google them if we had doubts about their operations and true to it they were legit ,

We just left there laughing. I told her, tell me in what world you would convince someone to invest 10,000 so that they can earn.

They had this meeting behind Nairobi Cinema. Any job opportunity about “you just need to have an ID,” murife run.

Lesson learnt.

trust your instincts ....mtu hushuku alafu cjui mtu huendelea huko mbele akitafuta nini.

Nairobi will teach you fast: if you don’t question things, you’ll learn the hard way.

tell us about your experience with aim global ama cjui sahii wanaeza kua wakijiita nini .....especially if you went ahead and paid the 10k ....tell us about the dust you saw .