From rags to riches

A story of Agnes Njoki prosperity.

Growing up in a typical rural set-up in Nyeri, Agnes Njoki worked hard in school so that she could achieve her childhood dream of becoming a professor of business management. However, her dream was shattered when, after scoring 536 in her KCPE examinations, her parents, Zakayo Ndung’u and Julia Wanuri, could not afford to take her to secondary school.
The fourth-born child in family of six children, Agnes, a former pupil of Mihuti Primary School, was admitted to two provincial secondary schools, Bishop Gatimu Girls in Murang’a and St Mary’s in Thika. But her parents, who could barely feed the family, could not afford the fees.
Aged only 13 but with a big vision, Agnes packed her few belongings and left her home in Mucharage village in Mukurwe-ini for Nairobi to look for a job as a house-girl. Her first job paid Sh800 a month. That was in 1995.
Today, Agnes, only 27, is a respected businesswoman with a well-patronised hair salon and four matatus plying the Mukurwe-ini- Nairobi route. The matatus are worth about Sh3.5 million and the salon about Sh1 million. Her monthly income is about Sh350,000. She pays herself Sh70,000 a month. She also pays Sh90,000 a semester for her only brother, Charles Kihara, who is studying in a private university in Uganda.
She employs 18 people including drivers conductors, hairdressers and a house-girl to take care of her seven-year-old daughter. She also has attendants who man her beauty products and DVD stalls. When she started working as a housegirl, her new employers, a born-again couple, Simon Nduati and his wife, Nellius, started her off on a Sh800 salary.
She worked for the Nduatis for one-and-half years then requested her employer to allow her to take a hairdressing classes at nearby salons once through with the daily routine. The couple was supportive and helped her pay the Sh1,200 fees for the next six months and encouraged her to start her own business.
When Agnes started earning from her newly acquired skills, she went into self-employment using the Sh9,000 she had saved and moved to Sh500, single room in the town.The business grew rapidly and she relocated to Nyeri town, about 20 kilometres away. Chixx Hair Salon and later Chixx Enterprises was born.
“I credit my sucess to my previous employers who were willing to help,”she told Saturday Magazine during the interview at her salon in Old Batian Building in Nyeri’s central business district last week. Agnes bought her first matatu in 2003 using her savings from the hair salon. It was relatively old and cost Sh180,000. She ploughed back the profits into business and in 2005, and bought another matatu.
She says her breakthrough came in 2006 as she worked on a client’s hair. “The client, called Catherine, happened to be a local Barclays Bank staff and she advised me to open a bank account and ensure my account was active, that with time, I could qualify for an unsecured loan.”
After sometime, her savings allowed her a maximum of Sh100,000 which she used to grow and diversify her business. The budding businesswoman, who had by then been taught debt management, qualified for another unsecured loan of Sh400,000 after she had cleared the first one. She then got separate loans of Sh500,000 each and says she feels stable enough to apply for Sh1.5 million after she repays the current loans.
Last year, Agnes was among the customers who won prizes for maintaining accounts with high turnovers. With an eager mind to learn and grow, she joined the bank’s business club and says her life has never been the same since she registered with only Sh1,100. “I have only a modest education, but I have been interacting with highly educated people, including professors of business, during seminars. I now feel at the “level” of the professor I aspired to be.
The only difference is that I am a professor of my own business,” she says with a smile. Agnes has, courtesy of the club, toured Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Dubai on business missions. “My view has been broadened in terms of business, thanks to meeting people with big ideas and dreams. But I am where I am, not because of hard work, but by the grace of God.


“When I could not further my education, I did not lose hope because I had a vision and faith in God,” she says. So, what made her venture into the much maligned matatu business? “I have never had any problems with the police or my employees. I ensure that my vehicles are always in good condition and have the necessary documents,” she explains.
And her advice to those who think the world has ended when they experience hard times? “Even if you are not educated, you can still be a millionaire. You only need to accept what you are and have confidence in what you are doing. You do not have to start a business with big money. You can still start with as little as Sh1,000 and become a millionaire. People should also not shy away from asking for help. I did not keep quiet when I needed help. Above all, trust God. Hard work without God’s blessings means nothing,” says Agnes, a staunch Christian who educates several orphans. Agnes has no plans of marrying just yet. “I don’t rule out marriage, but I have not thought about it.” Her vision is to grow her hair salon and beauty product business. “My salon has made me what I am today. I shall never leave the hair salon business even if I become a multimillionaire.”


such an inspiring story---
-do you curse the day you were born in that family?
-do you blame you family for the upkeep?
-do you blame God for the tough time you have ever had?
-have you ever blamed yourself for not realizing your potential?
-what step are you to take so that this agony comes our of your mind

MONEY AND STEWARDSHIP

How we handle money reveals much about the depth of our commitment to Christ. That's why Jesus often talked about money. One-sixth of the gospel, including one out of every three parables, touches on stewardship. Jesus wasn't a fundraiser. He dealt with money matters because money matters. There are two ways in which a Christian may view his money--"How much of my money shall I use for God?" or "How much of God's money shall I use for myself?

Matthew 25:26-28 (New International Version)
26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
We are all very familiar with the story of the talents. A man who was going on a long journey calls his slaves and gives them his possessions. To one he gives 5 talents to another he gives two and to another he gives one talent each according to his ability.
It is important to note two things here: The fist thing is that we have no say over where we begin, that’s up to the master, He decides what to give to who but the important thing is that each person gets something.
Secondly everyone begins on a level playing ground because each is given according to their ability, no more and no less. It is also important to note that the master does not tell the slaves what to do with the talent that is up to each slave.
The first two slaves go out and invest their money and they get double returns. The third one goes out digs a hole and hides all he has been given. Now there is nothing in this parable that says the first two slaves were saved and the third was not. Many times we believe that because we live a holy and godly life we will be blessed with finances. Let me burst your bubble, God will not reward you with lots of money and meet all your needs just because you are living a holy life.There are principles that govern how money is to be handled and they apply to us weather we are saved or not. The sad thing is that many Christians ignore this principles and we behave like the third slave. We don’t plan ahead, we don’t invest and we don’t save.
All we do is stand in faith. No wonder many of us are struggling to put food on our tables. Even the little that we have will be taken from us and given to him who has much.Yes we do not choose where we begin from but we determine where we end. The first two slaves took the risk and invested and God rewarded them with double the returns.Are you a good steward of that which God has blessed you with? If you are still struggling with putting food on the table and meeting your basic needs then there is something wrong with you and not God. He is the God of more than enough and like with the three slaves He may not tell you what to do with the talents

SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, INVEST OR DIG A HOLE?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

God has given you something to begin with and where you end up is up to you. Learn the principles of handling money and begin to apply them in your life.
Stop digging holes and being ignorant

Through the bible in one year
Today’s reading
Deuteronomy 19-20
Psalm 89
Acts 12

Now this is the Living Bible:

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion.
When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."

"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.
To guide you and protect you as you go along your way....
His love is always with you, His promises are true,
And when we give Him all our cares, You know He will see us through.