General Manager, Naro Moru River Lodge
Edward was raised by a single mother, Regina Wangechi. He had experienced the tough life right from conception to growing up. He is aware of the hard days and the success that he had been through. He was to lose his mother to HIV-Aids immediately after completing his O-levels. The burden and challenge of taking care of his mother and his little two siblings still motivates him to date.
Amidst the confusion and bitterness, he went on to educate his siblings and himself. He says that he wonders how he survived childhood. He rose from rank to rank to be where he is today. From just a mere toilet cleaner at Alliance Group of Hotels in Diani, to the GM of one of the best lodges in the Mt. Kenya. He says that the secret of life is for everybody to be positive, to try their best, to get on the front foot, get stuck in and give it everything.
I am not an early riser, but I am able to stay on late into the quietness of night working. I wake up at around 8am, but it also depends on the tasks ahead. The early bird may get the worm, but the night “owl” gets the whole jar. While the early bird may get to see the first worm crawl its way to the wet surface, the night “owl” gets to them before they burrow under.
The first thing do when I wake up, I drink 1-2 glasses of water, prepare for work and kneel down to pray before setting out to work at around 9am. For breakfast I take a fruit, black tea and any accompaniments available. Sweet potatoes, arrow roots or bread are the most common. I am not fussy about food so long as it’s done well. Why- I was brought up lean, not having much to choose from.
I always get at my office by 9.30am. I go through my to do list notebook and embark on tackling each item in order of priority. I check and respond to emails before holding individual briefs with my heads of departments depending on the need and importance. My morning hours are always busy since a lot has to be done during that period.
For lunch I take anything that I can have quick, like rice and cabbage or beef stew. This is at 1pm. My afternoons are like my mid-mornings. I hold many meetings with clients, staff and sometimes, travel from the hotel to places where I am needed. All to make sure that the business runs well and that our clients are satisfied.
I get home mostly past midnight. The nature of my job, like I said earlier requires working late than rising up early. Most of the times I like skipping dinner unless I had not had lunch. But if I have to, I make sure its something light. I don't do heavy meals.
Most of the time before sleeping I continue working in the office till late sometimes past 1 am, then read one or two chapters of a book before proceeding to the house. Here, I read a Bible verse, pray and sleep. So mostly I get to bed at 2am.
On Saturdays I lazy in bed till 9am, then go to the office till past 1 pm. Occasionally, I swim during the late afternoons and enjoy a drink with a friend as we unwind.
On Sundays I make sure that I go to church, after which I read the newspapers, lazy around in the house then head on to a swim in the late afternoon.
