2010 — 2020 A Gratitude Post 🙏
This is a timeline of people who shaped my path one way or the other.
“If you have a dream, you cannot bring that dream to pass by yourself. God will bring Dream Enhancers who will have the passion to bring your dream to pass.” ~ Dr. Cindy Trimm
For all the people who’ve made you a better person, make sure they know it. ~ Jennifer Fong
My 10 years into the Software Engineering Space was a journey that I did not walk alone.
These are the heroes and heroines who sparked something in me.
They may or may not know it, but they are worth the mention.
In no particular order:
Lorna Ogolla — (pre-2010) My younger self in High School was very inspired by you and I took the courage to ask what it is about you that makes you tick so effortlessly and you said, God Always. Very simple and profound. You have continued to support me and cheer me on to this day! Your support continues to push me forward. I am lucky to know you.
Mrs. Mary Ncube — The Kenya High School Computer Studies Teacher — Fuelling my curiosity every time I stepped into the Computer Class. You taught with so much passion and was always telling us of the future in tech and I couldn’t wait to dive in deep after school. You have consistently continued to support your students though out and I am a product of your calling in life. To ignite the hopes of dreamers.
Betty Mutimba Nabangala — That friend who loves selflessly. You have a pure heart Betty. You keep cheering me on, and our friendship was solidified from being classmates and later pursuing technology together. You renewed my hope and added that fire in my bones to dream again. We had sleep overs to learn Android, crashed at your place when I had to take an interview secretly and I needed strong wifi haha, and you know me deep. I am here to see you shining your light bright.
Ken Mwenda — Director at eMobilis who positioned the institution for success such that by merit and as an alumni, I got the opportunity to be a beneficiary of Scholarships from Nokia, Google, Microsoft, & mLab and that build the foundation for my success. This was a gateway for all that I needed to kick start my Tech Career. Through your dream, I found my dream.
Andrew Njeru — My lecturer at eMobilis. You taught as though your were teaching the next innovators in the industry! That first class on entrepreneurship at eMobilis was all I needed to ignite my hopes and dreams and stay in the coding labs and learn how to code!
Eric Mutuko — My Lecturer at eMobilis Academy, now running Zalego Institute. Eric was keen on how I wrote my code and when I shrunk in a class full of men, he reminded me that I was no different and that my code mattered. Your style of teaching was very therapeutic. Balancing what our young minds could take in, and telling us real life stories to shape how we think and solve real life problems. I am deeply inspired by the work you are doing on the ground with High Schools and University students, to inspire them and give them opportunities to thrive.
George, Brian & Andrew — My classmates at eMobilis who we coded together and did assignments together and they never saw my gender first. They were allies, even though they did not know it.
Desmond Bosire — Music Producer Extraordinaire! Yes people, I was one of those artists chasing DJs to play my music! I released two singles that are safely hidden from the internet now. Bosire’s mind was great to pick up with all matters technology! It was always refreshing talking music and technology after my programming classes in 2010! We took so many takes for my first single and it taught me to perfect my craft in everything I do. You are as good as your last masterpiece.
Fredrick Omondi — Engineer at Nokia who helped me refine the code base to my first app and mentored me. Always available to help me understand user experience and user interfaces and checked my understanding of data structures and algorithms against the code I had written.
Agatha Gikunda — I admired her career and still do. I felt lucky when she made the time to meet with me despite her busy schedule, taking care of Developers building on the Nokia Platform in Sub Saharan Africa. Agatha listened to me and challenged me to do better and to keep breaking glass ceilings. Agatha told my story and gave me a platform to be seen in the local newspapers.
Anthony Nandaa — Picked me up when I had failed and accepted to mentor me. Made time to meet with me every Saturday and helped me in refining my understanding of Computer Science concepts and building a roadmap for the next few years. Taking after the leadership of Developer Circle Nairobi after you was easy. You provided us with the blueprint for success as community leaders.
Yaron Cohen — Entrepreneurship and building Startups come with their own share of challenges. Yaron helped me fight the legal challenges by expanding my network and finding legal support.
Peter Karimi & Moses Sitati — Rooting for me and sending emails of new Developer opportunities and always getting me test devices when I insisted that I needed to test my apps on the newly released devices. 😁
Mercy Orangi — Calling me out when I did not show up for GDG events and sparking in me that discipline to be Available and Supportive to building Developer Communities. Spending long nights and days coding away to deliver on our Hackathon project for the Google for Elections Initiative; I learned to be resilient and to keep pushing.
John Kimani — Building a Developer Ecosystem takes building relationships. You, always, putting my name forward is something I don’t take for granted. My involvement with the Microsoft #4Afrika Initiative was out of you always looking out for me, and opening doors for me to thrive. Thank you for igniting the passion for Building Developer communities in me.
Lincoln Njogu — Great Community Manager who was always supportive when I reached out to use the space at iHub. The journey begun at m:Lab and you consistently showed support to me and many other community leads who sought to run events at iHub.
Jimmy Kitindi — Good vibes, Good Laughs. Your ideas and clean code was just always impressive. Couldn’t have asked for a better desk mate to learn from at mLab. Always such an inspiration.
Asha Mweru Mbowa— Thank you for being my mentor for the brief moment that we connected. Having coffee and lunch dates with me and helping me figure out what I want with my life. You are running an empire and you have shattered glass ceilings. I am inspired and I love the passion you have for building communities and providing opportunities for women. Keep shining your light.
Jennifer Nzilani — We build resilience pushing our startup and MVP AceTech to market and doing all the ground work looking for early adopters. Let’s keep this light on as we pursue our current and future endeavours
James Orengo — The most cheerful and 10X positive-energy-giving person in the Tech Ecosystem in Nairobi. James, you encouraged me from day 1 to excel and STAY in the male dominated industry and you still light up seeing me. I’m sad I left without saying goodbye. I will forever be so grateful for your influence and immense support in accessing all the resources I needed at iHub. Working space, Private Office, Events space, setting up Mics and all PAs possible for an A1 event, all the many times I showed up at iHub to connect with the community and run Developer Circle events. May your cup keep running over!
Jennifer Fong — First time meeting in 2017, you called me out when I shrunk in a full room filled with brilliant women in the tech industry. You asked me why I did not stand and speak up and show my authority as a Developer Circle Lead. From that day, I became Bold and Proud to lead and I strongly begun to champion for other Women in my community and in the Technology space, who like me, were shy to shine their light.
Nivi Sharma — You lead fearlessly and you are a strong champion for Women In Technology. You have made tremendous progress in fighting the good fight for equality, at the workplace and in the industry. Thank you for being a strong voice of reason when Twitter was ablaze for the Panel session we had planned that was inviting a strong group of Male Allies in the industry to show their support and join in the celebrations of the day to discuss and share their perspective. You stood strong, against all the pushback, and we had an amazing panel discussion. Thank you for inspiring me and being you. Not once, but twice, you have supported Developer Circle Nairobi initiatives and we were honoured to have you grace our events.
Janet Kemboi — 2020 started off rough. I was drowning in the cyber trolls on the Twitter streets for an event my team and I had organised and you called me late in the night and listened to my fears and frustrations and reminded me that I was doing the right thing, and corrected me on where we could have gone wrong. Your wisdom and expertise was very helpful in mitigating the situation. Thank you for still showing up as our Keynote speaker. I was very inspired by your career journey and honoured by your presence on the day of the event. Thank you for looking for me and telling my story through the Facebook Icons of Change Initiative.
Zane Holt — My first Developer Community Manager who showed me so much support with all the plans I set out for my community. Your support was just beyond what I expected and it built my confidence as a Lead. I have come to see this as the culture at Facebook. Giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. For all the opportunities that were presented to us as leads to show our skills and all the great resources to connect and build community cannot be fully emphasized.
Chimdi, Emeka, Angeline and the whole FB crew of champions running the Developer Programs at Facebook, have awakened so many dreams in SSA and across the globe and the work you do means so much for all of us who have desired to live out our wildest dreams.
Kambua Mathu — Thank you for the wisdom and support you have shared with me over the years and always reminding me that God is not yet done with me.
Makena Yvonne — Your friendship to me blossomed into a lifetime of accountability over the years, that I can never trade for. The coffee dates that I sometimes didn’t enjoy, because we were having hard conversations. Thank you for your love and care and joyous spirit that reflects in your name, Makena. I loved making music with you and the world is not ready for such a powerhouse.
Becky Muikia — If there was a definition for that person who believes in you without a shadow of a doubt and demands to see your best each time; That would be you Becky. I had no time to slack under your watch. Building the Voting System for KMVA(Kubamba Music Video Awards, 2013) pushed my limits and it counts as one of my proud accomplishments.
DJ Moz & Njugush — Thank you for the opportunity to build the first company website and the freedom I had at Kubamba to drive the course of technology for the company at the time, and to spread the Gospel through Technology.
Koby Mumbi Ndungu — The sky is not the limit for you Koby. I admire your drive to make a Global Impact, and seeing you do your thing is forever inspiring! I am glad I am part of your network!
Martha Chebet Chumo — You dream and do fearlessly! You are a great source of inspiration! Keep doing what you’re doing!
Elizabeth Wambugu (Mrs Maina) — You work HARD, and I mean HARD. Thank you for inspiring me, being my shoulder to cry on, and that person that has helped me balance life! I owe you a visit!
*The Journey was tough, and I left the tech Industry for a brief moment*
Six To Six Entertainment Crew — I loved working with such a vibrant team of creatives! It made me discover my people skills and refined my Social Media Management skills! DJ Cremé de la Cremé— Thank you for challenging me to keep building Software and you were always super excited discussing technology with me! It inspired me to get back into the industry.
Patrick Gitau, Brian, Marekia Kiringu — The squad that did the thing! Glad I met you brilliant minds at the time that I did! You are all just pushing the boundaries and building empires and I love to see it!
Gideon Nzukie & Pablo Johny — You looked for me and gave me the chance to work with you. I continued to excel and build my Social Media Management skills and again, it was easy making the decision to go back to the Tech Industry, but leaving the team made it hard and Gideon, thank you for making the transition easy and for staying in touch! I can’t wait to see the dream you and Pablo are building!
*Back at it again*
County Executive Matt Meyer — Running a Start-up is no mean feat and I am proud of all the growth and success of the company. It was a team effort and thank you for taking a chance on me and giving me the platform to grow my skills. It’s often odd to have a boss who encourages you to go after your dreams while still keeping the door open to work at the company; and no need to resign. Years later, I had to make the difficult decision to leave and pursue my dreams. Thank you for making this easy.
Eugene Mutai — Threw me in the deep end of Web Technologies, and helping me transition into that field and constantly cheering me on and showing me some tough love.
Douglas Atati — The most patient developer I have ever met! You do not rush things, you take your time and allow people to learn at their own pace. I enjoyed building new features with you using Laravel!
Wambaire Ciku — A Personal Coach, who made me see my potential and actually action on my plans for the next 5 years.
Gertie Sheshe — Your friendship to me was of value and we kept cheering each other on and I am very grateful for all we had. Keep shining your light! 💛
Elsis, Joan 💛💛💛, Eddie and all the amazing Developer Circle Leads across the globe who have showed their brilliance and passion for building communities. You all have been such a strong pillar for that sense of belonging and source of inspiration, it’s been a pleasure doing life with you!
and because I know Elsis will need his own special section:
Elsis Sitati — Your humour and Tech Bro jokes and puns have added life to me! It’s easy having a day with you. I laugh and you add so much joy to the tough times that the Tech Industry and life can bring! Thank you for your friendship. I am waiting for that glorious day you will find the love of your life. Keep praying, and keep trusting. Mbuyu, Hlulani and I have secured seats for that glorious day! Go yee and open the Jam. Push those dates to production! Can’t wait!
Tony ‘Stark’ Kharioki — Having a brief chat at TechCrunch and the next time we’re having Video Calls on Learning React. You barely knew me but you offered to teach me. Your selflessness and passion to teach others has pivoted you to being that coder! Look at you now!
Hlulani Baloyi — Meeting you the first time was such a refreshing moment of the dreams we have as African girls and I couldn’t be happier that I have you as a friend now. You keep inspiring me!
Sewagodimo Matlapeng — Recently, we have connected more deeply than we ever did, and I am inspired by your talent and dreams to be everything and more. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me.
Dr. Kariuki — My Father, who never stops to challenge me each day. I keep telling the story of the first time you saw the ad on the newspaper that was the key to unlocking my path. As much as I don’t enjoy reading newspapers, you will send screenshots and ask me of my key takeaways from that story 🌝. Thank you for teaching me to dream big, and that nothing should stop me from being all I ever want to be.
Mrs. Kariuki — My mom, who is a walking tank of genius ideas. Mom will wake up with app ideas and ask me to build them 😂. I love to see it! More importantly, her prayers have held me up and her smiles have added strength to my path. She is strong. She is loving and keeps me on my toes to grow as a virtuous woman.
My two sisters. You know we’ve known each other forever. Having family and sisters like you is all I needed to balance this life. One to represent us legally, and the other, pursuing her DJing dreams. Maybe she can play my music now? 🥳Oh, I was off-key? oops! 😝 listen to her mixtapes here
Libby & Cindy — My two other sisters. Bonding with you over time, you both really felt like my two other sisters. Thank you for your sisterhood. For being real with me and for sharing your laughters with me, and pushing me to be a better vocalist.
If you have read this far, thank you. There are so many other people who have walked with me on my journey that I cannot mention all, but I am super grateful for each one of you.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
Say thank you to that person you’re grateful for.
Thank God. Thank Them. Thank Yourself for making it this far.
This post was inspired by Jennifer Fong’s post on Facebook. Read it here:
This journey is 1% finished. Thank you.
YOU KNOW WHO GET’S THE DAMN GLORY IN THE END?
THE ONE WHO WRAPS HIMSELF IN THE CLOUDS!
My fellow programmers, calm your horses, this is not a tech related statement. 😒
Go decipher 🥳🥳🥳
