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Welcome to the Designed for Greatness podcast, conversations with Candice to help you elevate your mind, body, and spirit and own your divine greatness.
Episode 14: David Muiru - Embodying “Service Above Self”, Empowering Greatness in Kenya
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[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the Design for Greatness podcast, conversations with Canvas to help you elevate your mind, body, and spirit and own your divine greatness. Today you have episode number 14, David Miru, embodying service above self. Empowering Greatness in Kenya. Oh, my friends, you are in for such a treat today.
I had the incredible opportunity through the YouthLink organization to lead a humanitarian team to Kenya this past summer, and it was an absolutely magical experience. David Miru, who I have with me today, is the in country coordinator for YouthLink. He lives in Kenya, and I have had the privilege to work closely with him.
For the seven months prior to the trip, as well as every day of our 15 day stay in Kenya. And let me just tell you, this man is phenomenal. David is an incredibly successful businessman in Kenya and Central Africa, mostly working in real estate. He is [00:01:00] fully invested in the Rotary International with over 30 years of service.
in the Rotary. He's received so many awards and honors there for incredible service. And in fact, I believe it was through the Rotary that YouthLink first found David. Um, clear back in 2001, David has helped coordinate all the details and all the accommodations and help navigate the government policies and laws, helps determine where the humanitarian work would be the most effective.
He has been instrumental and vital to not only YouthLink, but he works with all sorts of humanitarian organizations, connecting them to the people in the places in Kenya that have the most need. His wife is Jane Miru. He has two grown boys. David, welcome to the Design for Greatness podcast. I've been looking forward to this for weeks, and I'm so excited for my listeners to get to know you and to hear some of your stories.
So I'd like to start out with what led you to pursue a life so rich and abundant with serving your fellow man.
Thank you, Cardis. Uh, David Moiro from Nairobi, [00:02:00] Kenya. My life has been channeled through the school that I went to. I attended a charity school by the name of Stare Boy Center. And this is where we were taught how to give because even ourselves were sponsored by people we didn't even know.
Like, for example, my sponsors were from Sweden, and later on, somebody sponsored me from New Zealand. These are people I never met, and I don't think I'll ever meet in my life. But they paid for my education.
Okay, yeah, so when you're sponsored, they pay for your
education. They paid for my education, and they used to give me small little stipend for end of month.
And from there, I learned that you can give back. And then while in school, we used to volunteer our school holidays, and we used to go and work in public hospitals, public homes, [00:03:00] and we used to stay at school, so there was no cost for the school. We used to walk to those sites, and after one month of, you know, public service, every year, that's really where I really got energized, and I got myself into Rotary, because, uh, when I was in third form, Some Rotarians from my current club, Rotary Club, came visiting our school, and they had this idea about a club.
We knew a lot of clubs, there were so many clubs in school, but theirs was a different club. They are related to Rotary, is about charity, and they would like to induct us to form a club called Interact. And so I volunteered, and I was among the first members of the Rotary Interact Club of Sariboi Centre.
And I went on with it until I finished school, and after that, [00:04:00] I graduated to form the first Rotaract club of Nairobi, Utumichi.
Wow! So you formed the very first Rotary
club there? Yes. And then I joined Rotary, my club, in 1989. I was well converted into charity. So there's nothing new about anybody preaching charity to me.
I was already a convertee.
Yeah, well, I mean, I believe you were the recipient of that charity. And so you, you understood what it does to hearts and what it can do to empower an individual to, to truly live a better life. And so to be truly converted to charity. It makes a lot of sense and how neat that you then work so hard to give back by creating the Rotary Club and tell me a little bit about your service in the Rotary Club.
How, what, what does that look like for
you? So just a little memory [00:05:00] when I was in the secondary school, we used to go to a spinal injury unit and the patients of spine. injuries. They just lie facing up. They don't move. They literally flat out. And during the holidays, or even during the weekend, we used to walk to this hospital, and we used to carry a pamphlet, a stamp, and an envelope, and we would find this patient.
We would introduce ourselves and say what we want to do, and we would ask this man or woman, do you have a family? The guy said, yes. Can we do a letter to them? And the guy would say, yes. And we would sit there, he would give us his address. And we would start, Dear wife, I'm so and so, I'm good, I've been lying in hospital, lately, uh, my injury is improving, uh, the nurses are taking care of me, they wash me, they change my clothes, [00:06:00] and we would sign his name.
The following day, which was a Monday, we would put the letter in an envelope with a stamp and post it. Can you guess what happens? A hundred miles away, his wife receives a letter. And the first thing they open and say, Oh my goodness, the man has recovered.
It's really amazing. It costs nothing.
Yeah, it costs nothing, but it, it, it changes hearts.
Truly. So, um, so when I started the Rotary, uh, 1996, when I got inducted, I became a project, a service project director in my club. And I have been a project director ever since August 1996. I later on rose to become a president of my club in 96, 97.
And I have done hundreds of projects, [00:07:00] in places some of them I have never been to. I have seen a lot of money pass through my hands. I have created a wild network of friends through Rotary, through charity. I'll tell you, I take, it takes part of my life. Half of my life is taken by Rotary. I can tell you right now, well, I'm a member of the District Rotary Foundation Committee, district 9,002 and two, and I take care of, uh, evolution of the pro, the, the district grants.
It keeps
me busy. Yeah, I can only imagine. I know when, when we were there, our YouthLink team, for all of our humanitarian work there in Kenya, you were with us the whole entire time, yet you still have your full time job as a real estate, in the real estate realm, and you dedicated time to our kids.
everything to us. Whenever we needed [00:08:00] anything, you were right there, um, helping us with everything. And you truly did give us all of your time, which you are a busy man. And I, I know that that takes up so much of your time. So tell me more about. Your why. Um, tell me about what makes you get up in the morning and, and what truly allows you to dedicate so much of your time to charity and service.
And it's, uh, part, the other part of my life is I'm a member or one of the chapters of the business network International, BNI. mm-Hmm, , BNI is just about money. Nothing else. There are no feelings. He's just making money. And I normally say, I make the money in BNI, but I spend it in solitary. Well, um, I, I am a living testimony that if I give a hundred dollars to charity, [00:09:00] God gives me back a thousand dollars.
I have seen it in my life. So, and because I've spent so much time in my life through charity, I say the remaining. Part of my life is shorter than what I've covered. So I would rather then just carry on. And, um, I tell you, there's a project that I have been doing. We've been doing corrective heart surgery for infants, small kids.
Corrective heart surgery. Yes, I have a team from Cairo University Hospital that comes to Kenya all the time. And of all the projects that I've had in my life, we've done roofs, we've done walls, we've done food, we've done desks. We've done nothing touches me than that project. Did you go in, find a child, three months, who had no life at all [00:10:00] left, okay?
The blood was mixing, the child had a hole in the heart, and once this child goes through the hands of the cardiac surgeon, We go back and see the child breathing, and many of them are walking. I feel so touched. That's really what moves me.
Ah, wow. Knowing that you, through you and through the doctors, lives have been saved.
Many lives. It is, it's amazing. It's beautiful. So I talk a lot about having a mind that's firmly aligned, a body that's purposefully loved, and a spirit that's powerfully accessed. What do you do to keep your thoughts in a place that That continually land you in a charitable, grateful, abundant type of a mentality.
You see, I see people saying that they have time to be idle. [00:11:00] That they can spend most of their time in the club, having alcohol, playing tennis, playing golf. But I find that my time is so filled up that I don't have much time left. So, when I look at what moves me, I have a busy office. I have a hundred and thirteen employees in my office.
So that takes a really substantial part of my life. And when I go to the office and I see how they are working and the office is able to, to succeed even during COVID, that's the other part of my business that moves on. Then I come back home. I have a family, two sons and my wife. And usually in the day, I leave office around three, four o'clock.
I don't go for lunch and I go home and I just. I sleep at 8 o'clock in the night, though I wake up early. And then when I look at, um, the rest of the [00:12:00] part of my life, that on a daily basis, I have to attend to communication through email on Rotary. Every day, I have to spend time. That's why I wake up early, around 4am, and I'm able to spend at least an hour on it.
Besides that, don't forget, I have the weekly meetings for BNI, and I have to attend and, uh, remain. active. And then on my life, I also do some little farming that you noted in the Kuru.
Yes, I saw your cute little farm in the Kuru. It was amazing. It wasn't little. It was, it was
big. It was awesome. So I also have invested in some properties.
So once in a while I'm able to drive and city. So when I look at my life, I normally say, when do people have time just to fool around? Okay. I can't even fit in with my program. Let me tell you, it keeps me so well, okay? I'm not, um, overweight. I'm able to take care of my weight. [00:13:00] Uh, that fact of me just taking breakfast and not taking lunch, I'm able to remain, you know, uh, in good shape, and that's what really fulfills my life.
And once in a while, I take a break. Like, usually I would work four days in a week, maybe take off on a Friday. Most weekends, uh, two weekends in the month, I would go to Nakuru to my farm, and I just sit there doing nothing. It's crazy that my worker there, when they see me just sitting doing nothing, they think that I'm a very lazy man.
They don't know that's when I'm really on. on Sundays we go to church, sometimes physical, sometimes virtual television. I listen a lot to country music. It's really fulfilling. Country music. It really touches me. So, that's my life and I have enjoyed it. I wish it can be longer than it is now.
Well, I think you bring up a really beautiful point when you fill your life with [00:14:00] good things.
You don't have the time to drop into feeling bad for yourself or, listening to the, the negativity because it's so full of beautiful things. And as you live a life that is dedicated so much to charity and service and giving, it truly does keep you, your mind, your body, your spirit in a beautiful aligned place.
And I love that. And you said something, if I give 100 to charity. I get 1, 000 back. And I think there's so much truth in that, the ability of God to multiply. Our efforts and to bring about blessings when we came to Kenya with our little group, I was given a few donations and I utilize those in the very best way as possible.
And as I brought them to Kenya, those donations expanded and multiplied and created. So [00:15:00] much more results than I could have ever even imagined. and it is very true when, when you give your, your, even your 10%, you're blessed a hundredfold. And that, that is beautiful. the other thing that you said that I really love is the ability to.
Do and to also be. How important it is to take those times to ground yourself, to get back centered, um, because if you just do, do, do, do, do, you burn out and you're not able to be as effective. What are the specific things when you're home that help ground you?
One thing I say about my life in Nairobi is that I don't have space.
I have space when I go to my village, because I'm all alone, [00:16:00] I'm all over the house, I'm all over outside, because when I come from home, I mean, I don't even leave the gate. I'm able to keep myself busy here, watching television and listening to music, and my people at home are able to take care of me, because what I drink, what I eat, what I dress, it's all determined by my wife.
I remember you telling me she packs your bags and she lays your clothes out for you. You're so lucky. She takes care of you for
sure. I tell you, I am just like, maybe spoiled. Yes. Everything in my life is handled. So, uh, that's really the part of the joy that I find, uh, being at home. And it'd be... With my boys, you know, fooling around laughing, you know, jokes, uh, my grandson likes, uh, racing.
We watch, uh, you know, the motor [00:17:00] racing mostly on Sundays, and we follow the circuit in the world. So whenever there is, uh, uh, FF one races, we all, you know, come to the, to the television. Even my wife now has been accustomed to moderation. We also watch a lot of, uh, documentaries on tv, the world, the wildlife, the National Geographic.
Lately, we've been switched on to the Gaza wall. It has really taken us a lot. And, uh, we've been watching Al Jazeera. We've been following up on what's happening in Gaza with a lot of sympathies. So it has taken part of our other part of life so that, uh, we are more or less following on that tragedy. And when we sit with my wife and watch the television, what's happening in Gaza, we feel very sad.
When we see life just, you know, life lost, people suffering, small kids dying. So, but that's how we keep ourselves. but other than [00:18:00] that, when I'm at home, I'm okay. I'm good. But I love most being outside the house, walking around, uh, visiting, uh, um, some of the investments that we have. That's really what I enjoy.
But when I go to Nakuru... I have a full 100 percent day on my own.
I love it. Nkuru is a special place, absolutely. So, I would love to hear a couple of your stories of some of the most meaningful, uh, service that you've been involved in, if you would
share. Yeah, good, thanks. One of the projects I ever did was, there was a drought in southern Sudan and I had been to U.
S. and I met some Turotarian. One was a past district governor in Tucson, Arizona, and one was a police chief in Texas, in a place called Leverland. We were able to package [00:19:00] a project to move a lot of grains from U. S. And we got it delivered in Southern Sudan. And the two American Rotarians came to Kenya, and we were with them.
But what I remember very interestingly is, uh, when we were in Masai Mara, we were looking for a drive to see the wild game. And as we got in, in Masai Mara, I was driving, and the first thing we saw was a lion. And this lion had its mouth open, like this. Oh, wow. And then one of the Rotarians... Who was very comical.
He asked, David, what is that lion saying? And I told him, it said, it has smelled an American.
Well, the other one that I recall is that in the summer of 1998, [00:20:00] I attended a Rotary Convention in Indianapolis. That was my first International Rotary Convention. And we used to wear the tags, the name tags, around our neck. And there were the shuttle buses that come around the hotels to pick the Rotarians and move them to the convention hall.
So I, the bus came and entered. And as I was walking along the air, there was this gentleman who tapped me. He read my name and he saw the word Kenya. And he said, hang on, we need to talk because we are doing a project for Kenya. And I said, fine, let's do it. That man came to my hotel two days after, and we crafted a project for them, about 20 of them from the U.
S. to come to Kenya. to do an eye care camp, and they needed my help to get it done, and I offered to do it. Then the sad thing happened in August of 98, there was a bomb blast [00:21:00] at the American embassy in Nairobi. Half of the group from US pulled out, but half remained solid and they said they'll come. So I went to receive them when they arrived at the airport that December.
You wouldn't believe it, that's 98. I've been working with that gentleman, he was in Kenya this September. He's coming back this February, and we've been in Bahati Nakuru since 2019. Dr. Nelson Edward, from 98th meeting in the bus, we are still buddies. We meet everywhere we go in the world. And he'll do anything for me, I'll do anything for him.
Wow. Wow. Now, here comes my link with YouthLink. And when I got inducted into YouthLink in the year 2001, in July, and I left July first. And the U [00:22:00] Link lift was coming to Kenya on 3rd. So I came, I came home three days before them. And I tell you, I was so scared because, um, the terrorism was still in the air.
And I managed to organize their pickup from the airport. And I managed to get... The crack unit of the police force to pick them from the airport, they were escorted to the hotel.
Did you say the crack unit of the police force to escort them
to the hotel? They were escorted to the hotel, I had organized their security with the Kenya Air Force Authority, and they were cleared very quickly without anything.
'cause one of the things that I wanted to do while I was with Juda Zone, the founder of YouthLink in her home there was this gentleman I met, his name is Parker, and his wife and his daughter were coming to that [00:23:00] trip first time. And Parker came to me on the left hand. He was holding his daughter and on the right hand he was holding his wife.
And he came to me and asked David, uh, this is all I have in the world. Are they safe to come to Kenya?
that's a lot of pressure
for you. And I told him, don't worry, they are safe. And so, I made a mission. But as long as we have this American team, we don't want any drama, we don't want any incident, and it's been trouble free since 2001. There's nothing ever reported. It's been cool and nice.
Yes. Well, I, I believe my team was incredibly blessed.
I felt very safe the whole entire time, and you did an amazing job with arranging all of the transportation, getting us to and from where we needed, and we even had, The flight that we were supposed to bring [00:24:00] half of our team home was overbooked and our team had to stay an extra night and you were critical in making sure we were okay there and making sure everyone was safe.
And yeah, it's, it's a lot to handle. And it's so neat that these groups are able to work through you and provide the service and the charities to the people that are really in need and you're able to connect them in, in, in beautiful ways to keep everybody safe and to empower not only the people in Kenya, but also the people that are doing the humanitarian work and, um, in just a beautiful way where everybody rises.
And that was, that's
phenomenal. Of this incident that has always, uh, keep on cropping in my mind, we had a team leader from YouthLink 2018 and one time she was in my car with her boyfriend [00:25:00] and we went to the national park in Lake Nakuru. So at the gate is infested by very big numbers and when we got into my car, There's this baboon that came to the front screen, and we could see it right in front of us.
And this lady's boyfriend wanted to take a photograph of this baboon. He lowered the window two inches, three inches, and let me tell you... Nobody realized how quick the baboon was. It quickly sneaked through the three inches of the window open. And two of us at the front were carrying no luggage. But guess what?
The team leader of YouthLink at the backseat had a bag. And she started fighting the baboon, you know? And everyone was screaming. The boyfriend was opening the door to come out. I was opening the door at the rear. I opened the window. And the baboon [00:26:00] took a bag and took off. It was very scary. But you
are safe.
Well, the baboon attack, do not open your window, not even two inches.
Rule number one. When you see a baboon, do not open the window.
Well, I was, I was very surprised to see baboons on the side of the road as we were driving in Kenya. Um, here, I mean, in, I live in Utah and there's deer on the side of the road all the time we see deer, but to see baboons on the side of the road, it's, it was, it was interesting and, and I'm glad that it all, all's well that ends well, except for the bag.
Never carry food where there are baboons. They'll grab it. And if you fail to release the bag, they can bite.
So I've had so many incidents, uh, uh, dramas, you know, nice, nice activity, but I say that, um, [00:27:00] I could write a story. Yes, you could write a book. YouthLink for 22 years. I've met the most interesting people in my life. We have been being with them for two weeks in a month, in every year. People I've never seen, people I've never heard of, but we are able to bond, do projects, community projects and deliver.
And... The last years, when I see them parting shots, they cry, and they really cry, you know, with joy. It feels, the connection and the bonding is so great. It is
so great. So what would you tell to people who are wondering if they can make a difference or if they have anything to offer or who are wondering and wanting to get involved but not knowing exactly how?
What would you, what would you recommend and what advice would you give?
There is so much we [00:28:00] can do in life, and no one needs to feel desperate. You don't need recognition as you deliver. And what we were taught in our school many years ago, you don't have to do much in life. You pass along the road and find that somebody dropped a banana peel, and it occurs to you that somebody can slip on that peel by stepping on it.
Just, just by picking it and putting in the bin, you've done your service to the world. So, I normally say that, uh, um, it's not the amount of money that you have. It is the heart of giving that counts. You don't even have to give money, you can give your time. And that's exactly what we do in Rotary. It's not that we have money, but we are able to give our time.
We're able to identify communities in a surrounding that we're able to [00:29:00] give something and it touches them. The other thing is that we can be instruments of help. Because one, for example, if I'm able to connect with this surgical team from Cairo, the Rural Rotary, and they come here for two months, two, three weeks actually.
And we're able to do operations, two children per day, one in the morning, one in the evening, and the rate of survival has been 100%. And when you talk to the parents, they have no, had no idea how this can be done. So if somebody can use their talents, your connections, your networks, you can be an instrument, you can help.
And I think that's exactly what we have done. And I would encourage people who feel. That, uh, they don't have the financial capacity, but they have an influence. That is how we are able to reach [00:30:00] donors, people who have the ability, and they can be able to help. And we channel that help. That's really what we encourage people.
Sometimes when I meet people, I tell them my age, they say, No, that's not me. I was 63 years. Okay. And people say, No, you look 63. I say, Why? God has been so blessed to me. And I feel, um, He has kept me here for a purpose. That's what I would encourage people. Yes.
Thank you. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. I, I love to help people own their greatness.
And to me, their greatness is their God given gifts, talents, strengths, abilities, aptitudes, gifts. And when we truly own that, We do have something to offer this world. We have connections. We have a network of people. We have talents, we have abilities. When we own our [00:31:00] greatness, then we can then use that greatness to bless this world and being able to believe that, that we can, and then asking, asking where, who, how it's just absolutely beautiful.
And I love that you pointed out. You can serve in just picking up. Banana peel. It's true. There are opportunities to serve and to love and to reach out and to connect everywhere, everywhere that we are. have you had any really big turning points in your life? I know, of course, you were sponsored. So you were able to get your education through sponsors.
But were there any other really big turning points that have really molded you into who you are today?
One of the things that happened in the school that I went. I was able to proceed on to University of Nairobi, and after three and a half years, four years, I graduated, I got a [00:32:00] job, and when I got a job, my boss, that time, he told me, he's offering me the job, but he doesn't have time to train me. So he asked me to go out and look for another job, I get trained, then after that I come back.
And that's exactly what I did. I went to join the government, through the Minister of Land, and I worked for nine months. After nine months, I came back and I got my job. So that, in terms of my professional life, it turned me around. I worked for that company for four years before coming to my current job, April of 1990.
That company has, you know, has given me an opportunity in life that I have today. I'm the CEO, I'm the managing director and a shareholder. I've been running this company. And I've learned a lot in life, but one thing professionally that I [00:33:00] normally recognize is I went to Kigali, Rwanda, in Central Africa.
in September of 2001. And that country had just gone through horrific genocides. Everything was in shambles. And so when I found great opportunities, what I learned in Rwanda, I would never learn in Kenya. I learned so much. I learned how to do project management. I learned to do things that I am not qualified or educated to do.
Like my first project in Rwanda was Annapurna. a project on urban planning. I had never done urban planning in my life, but we were able to plan under my team leadership over town on Lake Kivu. Okay. And we got 305, 000. So what I say is that sometimes God gives us opportunities. Sometimes you don't see them, [00:34:00] but you look for them.
What I learned in Rwanda has pushed me in my life that today I would take any project. It doesn't matter which one, because I know how to source for the right people. So I just need the job, and I can tell you, I'll be able to get the right person. Those are the lessons in life, and all the time you get opportunities.
But sometimes people are fearful to undertake. Sometimes you find it difficult. Sometimes you think it's not doable. But I can tell you, this is what I learned. And ever since, uh, I started running my company. Today we are able to do anything. we can go to the forest and count the trees and value them.
We have valued... Airplane, helicopter. We were group motives and we are not engineers, but how did we do it? 'cause I learned all this in Rwanda. You get a job and get the right person to do it. I can prepare [00:35:00] buffet and I'm not a cook. I just need to find a cook and we shall prepare the meal. Those are my lessons in life.
I love it.
I love it. And I, and I love that you, you touched on a few things. Fear. it freezes people, it paralyzes people, it makes it so people cannot use their greatness to do the things that needs to be done in this world. Um, you, you spoke to, um, doubt, doubting that you have the abilities to do it if, if you haven't ever done it before.
And those things, if we can annihilate the fear and the doubt and recognize that we'll just do the best we can. And with God, all things are possible and just doing our, putting our best foot forward. Um, you know, when I became a team leader for YouthLink, the first, the first team I led was to Fiji, and then the second team was, was to Kenya, and next year I'm, I'm leading a team to Nepal, uh, but to become a team leader and to think that I'm over 30 people, [00:36:00] and a good majority of them are youth, and that they're, it's on me, that can be a very daunting thing, and I, and I, I knew that, It was my heart's mission to get as much humanitarian work throughout this world that I could and to try and transform lives not only in country, but also on my team.
Um, it was daunting, but it's like you say, you just have to do it knowing that you will be blessed and finding the right people for the right job. And it is, it is beautiful. And what a, what a neat lesson to learn. In Rwanda. That's, that's really powerful.
I think it's, indeed, these are the lessons in life.
One thing I, I really admire, every year I receive a new team leader for Rine, and I have seen 22 of them,
22 new team leaders for [00:37:00] every year of the YouthLink trip. Right? That's a lot of new team leaders, .
Every year there's new energy and fresh ideas, and that's what I like.
it is truly a blessing to have boots on the ground in Kenya so that we know the things that we are striving to do will be sustainable, that there is some accountability there, that, that it is going to the right people that truly are in need.
And it is, it is critical. as we, as we wrap up here, David, thinking about, about utilizing all of what we have to serve the world. Is there any, any other thing that's on your heart that you would like to, to share with us at this time?
Yeah, I think, uh, if you divide segments of your life, the things you do like card is you are a teacher, so you have a [00:38:00] job, you have students you attend to in the evening.
You have a family beside your immediate family, you have sisters and brothers. That link is something that, um. In Kenya, our bonding with our family network is the most fulfilling. And one of the things that, uh, I didn't see the reason why I got in Nakuru because I've been brought up there. That's where all my livelihood has been.
All my media, other family members are there, and that network of meeting people is what counts. The other day, somebody said that, uh, in Kenya we don't really bury people in the, in the cemeteries, in the public cemeteries. Normally people are buried in their own, you know, homes, like you go to your farm and, you know, when you pass on, you're buried there.
And we learned [00:39:00] that the people who bury you are not the people you play golf with. They're not the people that you play tennis with or go for motor racing or the people you drink with. The people who bury you are the people in the village. People who you are with many years ago, they didn't make it in life.
They never got educated. They never got jobs. They live. Fairly low lives, but when one passes on, those are the guys in the village that will bury you. So what are, what are the lessons that, it doesn't matter how far high you go up, but at the end of the day, you come right at the bottom and you meet actual people.
Like, so I think these are the lessons that, uh, we've learned. We respect everybody. We don't ignore anybody. Like when I drive in the village, the people that I know, every time I find them, I'll stop in my car, I lower my window, and I'll just say, hello, how are you? [00:40:00] And that's really what counts. So in life, I say, uh, keep your family together, because really, uh, there are moments that you need them.
Your friends can abandon you sometimes in a point of need, your business associates can abandon you, your club mates, whoever it is. But your network in the family is what you count on, because, for example, even here, every time you go to the hospital and find that it's a visiting hour, who comes visiting a sick person?
It's a family member. They're the ones who come and bring you fruits, they come and bring you magazines, they come and pray for you, they sit around your bed, sometimes you're not able to walk, they walk you, sometimes you're not able to feed, they feed you. But... Your friends will find like you become a nuisance.
So I think one of the things that keep us going in this country, Kenya, is our family network. It is worth [00:41:00] so much. We can't monitor it. And that's what I would really say, that anybody, wherever you are, always keep your network of your family together. It counts a lot. So countries, I don't know any more I can say, but I think, Uh, you've heard me, and this really is, uh, David you want to talk to, or you've been talking about.
And there's nothing magical about me. I also say that, uh, in my life, when I reached this age I am, I have more or less reached very high levels, uh, in my area. Like, when I go to my Rotary, I am a senior Rotarian because of the years that I've served. When I go to my profession, I'm a senior appraiser because I've rendered so much time in my profession.
I've trained so many people in my life, in my profession, that if I was to assemble them, I would make several teams of football. When I go to, uh, my BNI [00:42:00] business network, I'm a past president, so they respect me. So I say, you must grow with your life. You cannot abandon any segment. As you go, you grow with your age, and when you reach that level, you have to fit in.
And that's where I am, and I feel, uh, wherever I go, I give career talks at universities, and what I do, I talk to the youth, and what I normally do when I talk to the youth, I just give them hope. Some come and say there is no employment, even if I graduate, there will be no work. There are so many people of my age and my academic qualifications who are jobless.
But all I do when I talk to the youth, I just give them hope. I need to open up the opportunities in life. If you're trained as a teacher, you don't have to be a teacher. You can be much more than you're a teacher. If you are trained as an accountant, you can do much more. So, I normally look for opportunities to talk to the young people.
And what I want to tell [00:43:00] them, I just want to give them hope. So that others don't get hopeless and feel you are down. You start falling into drugs, falling into alcohol, falling into all manner of ills. But what I do is just give them hope. And let me tell you, I like working with the youth. In my office. I have a lot of them in my, you know, young people below 25, below 30.
I work with them in Rotary. We have the youngsters, the rot actor. I'm the patron of the Rotoract Club of Bharti. We are doing projects with them throughout. You remember some of them came to a project. So really my part in life is to give people hope because I was given hope when I was young, when, why shouldn't I give people hope?
And I succeeded in life through motivation.
I love it. I love it. Hope is so powerful. And if you can believe something, then [00:44:00] you can achieve it, but you have to first be able to believe it. And that's where hope comes in. So, so strongly. Wonderful. Well, David, thank you so much for joining us today. We are so blessed by your inspiring example and the lessons that you've shared with us.
And thank you for, for being here.
Thank you, Candice. It's always good to chat with you. I'm looking forward to seeing you soon, one day when I come back to the U. S. And thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. God bless. I would love that. Thank
you.
Oh, my friends. I hope you were touched by David and his stories today. I hope that your heart was open a bit as you heard him speak of his life, dedicated to serving and helping wherever he can. To think of the almost 40 years he's worked with the Rotary on hundreds of projects, the 22 years of YouthLink teams he's coordinated with to do phenomenal projects, the cardiac surgeons, the eye clinics, countless other organizations he has helped [00:45:00] coordinate projects with.
And it all started with himself as a young boy getting sponsored by a generous soul from Scotland so he could get an education. Oh, how powerful our little acts of kindness actually are. They create ripples, which often turn into tidal waves of goodness spreading throughout the world. David shared his witness of the power of charity and service to be returned to the giver 100 fold.
I boldly confirm the truth of this. Every act of charity gets multiplied, magnified, and it blesses all involved profoundly. Is there something that you are feeling called to do? Is there a way you could serve, even in the simplest way? What could you do today to give another person some charity, to brighten a day, to lift an arm that is drooping down?
How could you use your divine greatness to help and elevate others? [00:46:00] May we all strive to follow David's motto, service above self. May we endeavor to give hope and to cherish our families. Truly, together we rise. If you would like some direction on how to activate your greatness, Sign up for a free call with me to create a tailor made game plan for you.
Use the link in the show notes. And if you are ready to start genuinely, truly believing in yourself and in your ability to accomplish goals and serve this world in beautiful ways. Reach out to me. To get you started, I have a free video. Self Talk. Go from crappy to happy with one simple brain hack. Again, links are all in the show notes.
And if you're interested in finding out more about YouthLink, the organization through which I met David, I will also put that link in the show notes. I am so grateful for the humanitarian work I've been so blessed to be a part of through YouthLink. This truly is an incredible organization. [00:47:00] I am passionate about empowering others to own their greatness and to use that divine power to fulfill their purpose in meaningful ways.
This is what it means to live an elevated life. I am so grateful for David, who is such a shining example of what this truly looks like in the world. May we all use our greatness to bless others. As, together we rise. Remember, you are designed for greatness.