My Hearts Impressions: My Kenya Impressions

I am my greatest asset.

All things external may fade away and be gone with time but one thing that will always remain with me is me. The message I want to put across is that although buying houses and buying cars is great, although working hard to earn more and fattening up your bank account can give you great comfort and satisfaction investment in self is just as critical.

I recently traveled to Kenya to visit a friend from University as well as take a break from the stresses of work and the routines of life itself. I've never been to Kenya and upon arrival I was enthused by so many things that seemed so different from all the other places I've been. I've been to England and visited so many beaches there but none are anything like the ones in Mombasa. I've been to South Africa and listened to men and women speak in their mother tongues but none of them are quite like kiswahili, kamba or gikuyu. Before I came to Kenya I thought I knew what a traffic jam was-Simon Mazorodze and Willowvale at 7.30am on my way to work but boy was I wrong. I've marveled at olden day infrastructure in the UK and some of our magnificent buildings in Harare but my mind was set alight by the buildings standing tall and erect in Nairobi. It was different.

Now believe you me it wasn't just a matter of waking up one day and hopping into the next flight to Nairobi. It was a decision I made months before and something I worked very hard to achieve. I graduated recently and I'm working at my first job. My salary isn't much and I'm often embarrassed to say it out loud to anybody but I proposed in my mind that I was going to work hard, save as much as I can and fly myself to Kenya. Gone are the days of spending daddy's money...this was on my account and it wasn't easy. I had to let go of so many luxuries but one thing I'm certain of is that it was worth it. You can't put a price on international exposure. You begin to see your world in a global context and what began as a mere holiday can very easily be extrapolated to the expansion of my horizons. I know a little bit more about Africa and the world itself now and to me this was a great investment in self above and beyond being so much fun. No one can ever take away this experience from me. It is mine as long as my memory can keep it and thus far it marks the beginning of many more travels. It wasn't easy to get to and I had to deal with logical dilemmas of say save for another year and a half and buy a small car or a stand but this was my choice.

Someone might be reading this and thinking, "I can't afford to fly all the way to Kenya." "I have other commitments like rent and family" and maybe while you can't make that big a sacrifice you can definitely make other smaller ones. See Zimbabwe. Don't stay couped up in Budiriro where you were born and raised. Save a bit for six months and go to Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Nyanga or even closer to home take yourself and your partner out for lunch somewhere 'expensive'; Meikles, Sam Levys Village, Crown Plaza. Take your kids to see the airport...it's free! You won't imagine the wonders it will do for them to watch a plane take off and land. Just make that sacrifice. Expand your world.

So although believe travel is one form of investing in self I appreciate that it may not be for everyone. Another critical investment in self I was reminded of is education. And in a country where people with multiple degrees are unemployed you find a great majority of our youth asking what is the point when I can kiya kiya and get a few dollars. What is education when I can cross the border and go to South Africa and make a few dollars. This saddens me for so many reasons. Education is a tool to empower beyond cash today. It's s security whereby although things aren't working out for the educated now Zimbabwe isn't always going to be like this. Tomorrow things could be different and where will you be still making a quick buck? And above all else money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to your mind is yours forever. Do that short course, learn that skill, get your o levels uve ne5 ako akakwana. Just make that sacrifice. Grow you. Invest in yourself.

The two things I mentioned above (Travel and Education) may not apply to yourself but I'm sure you might have something else in mind that might..do that! The time for clothes, shoes, houses and cars will come. Or maybe it has even come and gone and while these are all just as important nothing is as important as you! Make a significant or small investment in yourself and I can assure you it will pay you for the rest of your life.

xoxo

Chido Dziva Chikwari