“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”
– Desmond Tutu
During our last blog post, I shared how distraught Waylong was to learn that he was not going to cycle with us to Machakos Town. It wasn’t out of malice. The bike we had given him had broken down and needed major repairs. That same day, Sam Kibiko visited and spent several hours with us. During his stay, Sam shared tips on effective fundraising through cycling.
But before that, he asked a question that almost threw me off balance.
“What is happening with Waylong?” he asked. “Who is he?” he added before I could answer him.
“Waylong is one of our longest mentees,” Earnest Okello, a Lifesong Kenya team member, replied.
Waylong’s progress
I met Waylong in April 2017. He was, and still is, a quiet and creative young man who is brimming full of ideas. I immediately knew he had a father who wasn’t actively involved in his life. It wasn’t that difficult to figure out. Within a few weeks of interactions, I offered to look for his dad and talk to him.
It wasn’t easy finding him. By the time I finaly met him, I had already known Waylong for close to two years! Of course, he had already visited my wife and I two times and spent a whole week cycling with us. We shared and discussed Waylong’s progress as a young man, cyclist and desire to cycle with us in December.
Waylong Gets a Bike from Sam Kibiko
After seeing Sam Kibiko off, we went to meet our grandma who broke down my work in her own words. Here’s the clip. At first, she wanted to know how she got into the video, which was hilarious. I was gald when she related my work with boys in juvenile prison to counseling.
The next morning, I woke up to find this message from Sam Kibiko on Whatsapp:-
“Waylong’s bike.”
This being so, we left for our scheduled long ride to Machakos in high spirits.
How to support Lifesong Kenya’s Half Way Cycle
Would you like to support our Half Way Cycle?
There are several ways to do so. First, you can use PayPal: donations@lifesongkenya.org
Alternatively, you can also use this link to contribute your support. You can either support per kilometre which costs Kshs. 600 ($6) or sponsor any of the five cyclists who will take part during our cycling event in December. Remember, every contribution counts. Let’s help transform the lives of exceptional young men exiting juvenile prison.