I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since we left Daystar. I still remember the reporting day in 1993. I was dropped at Valley road campus in the morning and got into some old vans/buses to head to Athi River. It was like those movie scenes of inmates being taken to prison in a remote area. I recall arriving in Athi river campus and it was very hot and dusty with few buildings spread over the vast savannah linked by concrete foot paths. My class was the second intake to Athi river campus.
There are memories that are still vivid in my mind to this day. From multi colored big lizards doing press-ups on the huge boulders as they raced by to a huge python that found its way to class and we had to cancel the class. That was really cool. We wished more snakes can attend lectures. Then we had the first cultural festival ever that I was part of the organizing committee. We sang love songs and ate foods from various countries prepared by our fellow students from the diaspora (read rest of Africa). I still remember a dear friend in a shuka singing Malaika Nakupenda. I can’t mention her name now as she’s a serious pastor’s wife lest her congregation takes off.
Then there was the strike we staged when Daystar received its charter and our grades had to follow a certain curve. I still remember the famous remark by Prof Nguru, saying he has been a scholar all his life and never has he come across students negotiating for grades. At least at the end, if it all we did not burn the few building s we had. One of my strange memories was the interview/ testimony we had to give to be accepted into Daystar. I found it ridiculous but looking back now I appreciate it was an attempt to preserve the Christian value Daystar was known for. I wonder how that’s going now.
There were no mobile phones then and we had to line up at the only public phone booth to keep in touch with civilization. It was a whole different world back then and it worked somehow. In comparison to today’s world, I miss the simplicity and relational interactions with less technology. Talking of technology, we had huge desktop computers and I got my first diskette in Daystar to put my work in. Today we have flash disks and clouds. On transportation, I still remember those huge old Kamba buses that would ferry us to and fro and once in a while we would have to get out off the bus for it to be fixed when they broke down on Mombasa Rd. And then again we just came out and admired the sprawling savannah dotted with gazelles, zebras, and few giraffes.
So the point I’m trying to make by going down memory lane is our mindsets were different and that helped us accept our environment and circumstances. As I reflect back I was less demanding and more accommodating of what life threw at me. I doubt many of my colleagues would accept now what was thrown our way back then. I’m all for progress and climbing up the ladder (whatever the ladder that is) but Daystar taught me to make do with what I have and improve it from there. Maybe that’s where I got my favorite remark that I keep singing to my staff and family: .it could be worse. This outlook has helped me navigate challenges that have come my way.
Daystar also gave me friends for life. In fact, we had a group called friends forever and we would sing songs and participate actively in the chapel. To date some of this guys are still an integral part of my life, we have supported each other as we went through marriage, parenting, business and careers and even bereavements. To me this is what life is about; relationships and I thank Daystar for making me wealthy relationally. Here’s to another 20 years. Cheers …
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Lucas Maranga, is a graduate of Daystar University class of 1997. He is a CEO at Happening Ventures. He is best described as |Entrepreneur- CEO Happening Ventures| Family Man |Public Servant |Business Couch |MC| Story Teller
Would you like to share your story……write to us at alumni@daystar.ac.ke