This is a list of ten people Nairobians often take for granted as they go by their businesses in the street. The media frequently overlooks the most important people in our lives. Socialites and politicians are feted on a daily basis and receive extensive media coverage, but they add little value.
Today, we’ll look at the ten most important people you should never take for granted.
Ten people Nairobians take for granted
1. Mama mboga
She brings fresh farm produce to your door and will even cut it for you. So why would you sneer at this hardworking lady? If you only knew how to get the vegetables and fruits from Wakulima market to your door.
2. Parking attendants
They provide both security and insecurity. If you cooperate with them, your car’s headlights and side mirrors will remain intact. Play smart or cite the law, and you’ll be kicking yourself when you get home from the bar or coffeehouse.
Read Top 20 Interesting Facts About Nairobi City.
3. Shoe shiners
Women who enjoy shoes, particularly high heels, understand the importance of cobblers. When you least expect it, your heels will fall off in the middle of the street.
The cobblers in the Hotel Ambassador area, Banda Street, and the slums of Nairobi come to these women’s aid to save them from embarrassment.
We live in a city that, depending on the weather, is either too dusty or too muddy. The shoe shiners make sure you don’t walk into the office looking like a milkman.
4. Park evangelists
Often despised and looked down upon, street preachers play the role of selling hope to the hopeless, who throng the public parks during lunch hours to eat ‘air burgers’. In such cases, the word of God can be as welcome as a sumptuous meal to a hungry man.
5. Newspaper and book vendors
They deliver your preferred newspaper to your office, car, or street. Book vendors sell used books, sometimes classics, that would normally cost an arm and a leg in a bookstore.
They are very informative and are the first to know about any new developments on the streets. But despite their critical roles, they are among the most overlooked by Nairobians.
6. Tailors
Many Nairobians abandoned their tailoring businesses in the village. They have no recollection of taking their clothes to the village tailor for patching.
Nonetheless, tailoring services are still highly valued in many parts of Nairobi. They are the difference between a cloth being thrown away and having its ‘shelf-life’ extended.
7. Street Photographers
Smartphones may have rendered their job obsolete, but street photographers are still useful for Nairobi village first-timers who do not yet own a smartphone.
They are a blessing not only for first-timers, but also for parents who take their children for recreation and boat rides at the Tom Mboya statue, KICC, and Uhuru Park.
8. Nighttime tea vendors
They had long supported the idea of transforming Nairobi into a 24-hour economy. Coffee literally runs economies elsewhere. Night ladies sell tea to matatu drivers and security guards, providing them with an extra boost to keep the city moving and safe.
9. Luggage carriers
They are inconvenient for both motorists and pedestrians. However, for hundreds of people arriving from the countryside who cannot afford taxis, these people come in handy.
Furthermore, mkokoteni men deliver food to CBD hotels, beating traffic to ensure that your breakfast and lunch are ready on time.
10. Plumbers
Let’s face it: most of us know nothing about plumbing. When the sink gets clogged or the toilet breaks, it takes the wiry fellow in a blue coat arriving with a polythene bag to clean up the mess.
As a Nairobian, having his phone number on speed dial is useful because caretakers and landlords will never assist you with plumbing issues once you move in.
