The story of Lesley Koyi’s stories on the African Storybook website

Lesley Koyi

“I live and work in Nairobi as a Records’ Manager with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. I am married with two children. I have a big passion for writing short stories and poetry. I am interested in encouraging a reading culture among children to help them avoid the same challenges I faced as a little child living in the western part of Kenya and  trying to gain access to reading materials. My stories and poetry carry a message of hope as I write about personal thoughts and experiences.

Why I wrote Magozwe

“I have always been interested in understanding the reasons that lead boys to live on the streets so I thought about a character I would use to bring this message out. This was my reason for writing Magozwe. There are so many street boys in Kenya who would personally identify with this story. I also wanted to show how life on the streets is difficult with gangs, drugs, crime and the daily fight for survival as the homeless try to get food and essentials. I wanted to bring out a strong message of hope to all facing similar challenges to let them know that with education and a strong will to succeed, life can change for the better. The key message is that being able to read and write is something everyone should strive to achieve. I wanted to show the African family setup and what can happen to young children when they lose their parents and the challenges they face, such as child labour and abuse. Finally, I wanted to show the importance of pets and animals in the development of children.”

Reasons for writing Day I left home for the city

“The story is about my personal experience as I travelled to the city of Nairobi from my home village in Kakamega to look for a job in the city in the year 2008. I drew on my experience of how different groups of people (passengers, touts and hawkers) behaved during the journey. I was looking for a way to highlight the challenges in Kenya’s transport system and also the challenges people go through while travelling with luggage and children, as well as their eating habits on the buses.  Also, even though travellers know very well the direction of the journey, the touts still assume that they do not know and that is why there is the shouting about where the buses are heading to. Each of the touts has to fight for passengers to fill the bus he is assigned to in order to get some commission. Last but not least, the overloading of the buses with all manner of goods is a common phenomenon.

“In the story, the person sitting next to me in the bus holding a green plastic bag was actually my neighbour back in the village. I was shocked to see him, and in the story I used him to show the common picture of job seekers travelling from the village to the city just clutching all they have in a small bag. As I undertook the journey, I was worried about my family, my rabbits and my tree seedlings because I love planting trees. The nostalgia in this story is a feeling shared by many people travelling from the countryside in search of jobs.”

Anyone interested in getting in touch with Lesley Koyi, can contact him through us: africanstorybook@saide.org.za