At a time when county assembly members are making the buck the quickest way they know how and travelling to expensive, exotic destinations at public's expense, one nominated member of county assembly (MCA) is living up to the ideals of public service.
Henry Wanyoike, a blind athlete who was nominated to the Kiambu County Assembly to further the interests of the disabled, has become an all-rounder as people from his ward and beyond approach him with a myriad of socio-economic problems afflicting them.
Having arm-twisted their way into generous allowances, many MCAs, as opposed to the councillors they replaced, have moved out of the ‘village’ to secure residences away from the electorate and their ‘unreasonable’ demands. However, Wanyoike who was born and brought at the Kanjeru Shauri Yako slum has stayed on despite the fact that he made it through his athletic prowess long before he became an MCA.
With earnings from his initial races abroad, the 5,000 metres Paralympics games world record holder bought himself a plot just next to the Kanjeru slum and he has lived there since despite his financial ability to move and reside in a better location.
Wanyoike, a man with a bagful of gold and other medals from across the globe, is also not in a hurry to explore the tourist sites of the world, though he did attend the Tel Aviv outing with his fellow MCAs from Kiambu in May. His athletics career has taken him to many of the world’s capitals.
His main work at the assembly is to raise issues and push for legislation of matters that would advance the cause of the physically disabled, but as Wanyoike stays among the locals who know he is better off than they are and has the ears of the ‘big boys’ in Kiambu, a lot more is put on his table. Most of the issues that are taken to him including those of bursaries and scholarships, he forwards to his Henry Wanyoike Foundation which assists the needy in society, but others including bad roads can only be handled at the county government level. This is where he has to assume the role of other MCAs and forwards the complaints to the relevant people or bodies.
“Most come to see us about school fees and medical assistance and so apart from seeking assistance for them, we also encourage them to join the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and join Henry Wanyoike Foundation’s Raia Sacco to enable them save and borrow.”
When the Education Bill was being discussed in the Kiambu County Assembly, Wanyoike and his fellow disabled MCA Mary Wangari pushed for school bursaries for disabled children to commence from class one instead of form one. They also lobbied for the Youth Bill to be changed into the Youth, Persons with Disability and Women Bill for all the groups would benefit from the fund.
The two are advancing the cause of the physically challenged by petitioning the county government to waive licence fees for business people with disability. “Today, if one produces a card on disability from the National Council for People with Disability, they are given the licence fees waiver.”
The physically challenged MCAs are also demanding that upcoming buildings be made friendly to people with disabilities and that the people they represent are given equal opportunities in the labour market.
Wanyoike however defends MCAs from his county on the accusation that they went to Israel just to ‘collect holy water’ from River Jordan, saying that theirs was a trip aimed at harnessing partnerships with the Israelites in farming ventures and infrastructure. “We also wanted to learn about the advanced farming technologies that farmers in Israel apply and how to put them to work locally.
“As we speak, we have compiled a report and we are also trying to forge a partnership with people from that country, who will be coming soon to teach our farmers how to use technology to better their farming. Those tasked with the implementation of the report on the Israel trip are going round the county engaging the agricultural extension officers on how the knowledge can be passed on to local farmers and subsequently value added to agricultural products”.
Fortunately for him, the athlete does have to use his position as an MCA to travel the world and recently he was promoting sports tourism at a cultural festival in Washington DC for two weeks, courtesy of the Kenyan government. “The conversations I had with Americans who attended the festival indicated that many would like and most likely will come to Kenya to find out why our athletes do so well especially in long distances.”
Wanyoike had barely shaken off the jet lag when he took another plane only two days after getting home, this time for a Standard Chartered marathon run for the benefit of the Seeing is Believing programme in London.
So how has life changed for the world Paralympics record holder since he became an MCA? “I am living the same life, interacting with the same people, but I will admit that I am busier. However nothing is new as I have only intensified what I used to do at the Henry Wanyoike Foundation — helping the less fortunate. The best thing about being an MCA is that I now have a platform for discussing issues that affect those I represent.”
One of the main reasons why Wanyoike has continued living in the vicinity of the Kanjeru slum is to enable the youth in that area to relate to his humility despite achievement and have the determination to succeed as well. “I want them to ingrain in their minds that one day I was where they are today, but that they can also get to where I am today.”
He believes his neighbours in the village are his security and most times over the weekend he would walk from his home to Kikuyu, taking time to mingle with and talk to his neighbours and others along the way. “If successful people stayed among their people and shared what they had with them, they would motivate the youth into emulating them.”
Wanyoike is married with four children.