Meet John Wanjohi: lessons in resilience and hope
My name is John Wanjohi, and I hail from a small rural village in Mwea plains, a few miles from Sagana. It’s an area reputed for rice farming. Life isn’t plain-sailing but this doesn’t deter me from pursuing my dreams, especially in technology. Internet access is prohibitively expensive, and cyber cafés milk customers dry. In May 2021, I got lucky when strangers fundraised a laptop for me via donorbox.org with clear instructions; go and make your way in the endless technology field. Here are a few thoughts and experiences on the journey thus far.
Headless chicken
I love writing.
I grew up in a limiting environment but writing helps me reimagine the world, and appreciate the limitlessness of life.
Getting the laptop marked the beginning of a new phase. From a tender age, I recall a fascination with films. Therefore, it was no brainer to venture into screenwriting. Hollywood appears close but, as I learned, the reality is different. The exertions of finding a breakthrough or even getting my foot on the door in the film industry became apparent. Where do I even start? From reading hundreds of scripts to grasp formatting guidelines, applying for waivers in film festivals, participating in script competitions, offering unsolicited scripts, to seeking representatives who all seem bent and/or determined not to pick any new clients. My patience, resilience, and wisdom tested beyond limits. Some unkind words found their way too but I am better for it, this is how we learn. I made a few friends, and their honest advice was to put my screenwriting career on ice.
Desperation, at times, brings out the best in us.
The reality check in screenwriting sent me back to the drawing board. Last year, I became interested in search engine optimization (SEO), and I decided to revive my interest. As fate would have it, a small business owner trusted me with their website for auditing and optimization. Truth is, I was a novice and the website served as a source of livelihood to the family. That freaked me out. Scared. What if I mess the website further, and all the data disappears?! I spent weeks on YouTube learning and practicing until I felt somewhat ready. The website auditing and blogging began to show fruits a few weeks later.
Sincerely, I thought stars would align as soon as I got a laptop yet nothing could be further from the truth. Skepticism, denial, false starts, and despair characterize the journey so far. Somebody suggested coding, and what haven’t I tried? I forgot the importance of self-care. I ignored my inner voice, mistrusted the process but hey, I am only human. Imperfect and vulnerable.
Keep Learning
Google offers a few free digital courses. For example, Google Digital Skills for Africa provides a foundation for a person desiring to venture into digital marketing. I exhausted the courses ages ago. For UK residents, platforms such as General Assembly and Wyk Digital offer relevant and in-demand courses. Check them out.
“Hope Through Tech”
Also, if you know other platforms I can check, especially in digital marketing, kindly refer me.
Into the future
Over time, I perfected website development and auditing, copywriting, SEO, and related skills. I have a personal website built on free hosting. It is slow because the hosting is free, so please be patient! I remain hopeful for my first client.
Good people exist and these remind us to look beyond the darkness.
Hold on to such people. Cherish and celebrate any small wins. My greatest fear is the inability to offer an opportunity to someone else, as strangers have done for me countlessly. I have to make a way for you cannot offer that which you lack.
For now, I seek to afford lunch. Small beginnings. If it works out well, I pray I can build my mother a decent house.
Dear readers, kindly consider commencing somewhere, anywhere and don’t look back. Take care of yourself, cheer up and enjoy life’s quiet moments; for life is not an endless angry squabble. Eventually, the stars align. I believe that. You should too.