By Prudence Minayo
A lot of people have learnt to associate beggars with those who are abled differently. However, this is not always the case as there are dozens not willing to let their circumstances dictate their future.
Born lame, Daniel Kipkoech decided he was not going to be a beggar. Instead, he was going to use his God-given gifts to succeed.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background and Education
He was born in Longisa area, Bomet as the first in a family of five children. After pursuing his studies in Bomet, he went to Kisii Polytechnic to undertake a course in fashion and design.
Hawking
After completing school, he did not have enough money to purchase a sewing machine. This forced him to look for a less capital intensive business idea.
He moved to Narok in search of better opportunities and started hawking fruits in his wheel chair. He would purchase avocados, oranges, mangoes, in wholesales and go around looking for people to sell to.
The business did not make as much profit as he anticipated. Hence, he stopped it and started supplying retail shops with soft drinks. He modified his wheelchair to allow him transport goods.
Saving and buying a tuk tuk
Once again, the business didn’t yield what he expected and he left it and started a mali mali business. Customers would flock the business to buy sanitary pads, and utensils among other products.
On a bad day, he would make Sh200 and on good days up to Sh2000. Speaking to The Star, he explained that he was very strict with his finances. He made sure that he was saving Sh1,000 a day and using the rest for food and rent.
With his savings, he was able to purchase a three-wheeler tuk tuk. He uses the tuk tuk to ferry goods for businesspeople who move from market to market to sell produce. The business has enabled him reap good returns.
His friends were stunned by his go-getter attitude and when they found out he had bought a tuk tuk, they took gifts to him as they saw his effort.
“Being physically disabled does not mean that you are mentally disabled. Just start a small business and I believe God will bless it to grow and become a very big enterprise”.
“Imagine if you are seated somewhere begging and people pass you without dropping a single coin in your basket. You will feel bad and end up hating people,” he told The Star.
On whether he plans to marry, he said he wanted to create wealth first. He is only interested in marriage after he has established a home to ensure his children have a nice life.
He also believes that no woman would marry a lame man without finance
