#48 Part 2 Alfred Ongere: Mind the Mandazis: Life Lessons from Boarding School

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Early School Experiences
• 13:00 The Transition from Primary to High School and Cultural Exchange
• 38:00 Navigating Academic Choices and the Road to Technology

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Really interesting. Really nurtured that skill of taking care of yourself, managing finances and just living around other people, especially of different cultures.

Speaker 2: 0:13

So at primary school you were managing finances.

Speaker 1: 0:16

Yeah, we were given pocket money oh it was a boarding school.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Yeah, it was a boarding school.

Speaker 1: 0:22

So the first few months you max out everything in one week. That is what managing is, and then with time you realize you have to space it out, yeah, yeah yeah, so maybe you eat a toast today, once a week.

Speaker 2: 0:38

Mandazis, hot mandazis.

Speaker 1: 0:39

Hot mandazis yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Oh nice, nice, nice. How did you perform? Or were you just eating mandazis? Oh, nice, nice, nice. How did you perform? Or were you just eating mandazis?

Speaker 1: 0:49

I was eating mandazis and performing at the same time.

Speaker 2: 0:53

You know, we hosted a from Western. Actually, he told me he used to dip his feet in the cold water to study. He was a bookworm. And actually he went to the same high school.

Speaker 1: 1:09

As me yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:11

Was that also your history?

Speaker 1: 1:14

No, you're not doing that. I was not a bookworm in high school. In primary I was, but in high school I sort of turned down and relaxed and just went through life. So for him actually it was in primary school, primary torn down and relaxed and just went through life. So for him.

Speaker 2: 1:25

Actually it was in primary school.

Speaker 1: 1:26

Primary. Yeah, I was I was so taken aback. Man, yeah, yeah, but I'm not surprised Primary, it was really cause this was what was determining where you are going next, so you really had to to put in. So for us just waking up early reading extra during the weekend and so on.

Speaker 2: 1:45

So what time? Did you wake up.

Speaker 1: 1:50

Around 5.30, 5.30, 6. Because I think classes were starting at 7, 7.30. So you go and do a bit of reading before the classes start or after the classes, especially during the weekends. You set aside some time to just go and do your own reading.

Speaker 2: 2:10

Oh, interesting. So you really performed well in class 8? Yes, I got 410. 410?.

Speaker 1: 2:20

Out of 500? Out of 500. But any particular experience that you remember from my primary school life um, I think it was just uh, that whole boarding experience was very, was very interesting. Um, I think uh the school had uh students from all over the country so so guys from Nairobi were being brought there to read, guys from other provinces were being brought there. So it was this good introduction to socializing with other people from different cultures.

Speaker 2: 2:58

And which class did you start boarding?

Speaker 1: 3:01

I started class four, so actually I repeated class four. Okay, yeah, so when you came from another school then my parents decided that we need to repeat. Okay.

Speaker 2: 3:13

Yeah, okay, they felt like these other schools were not doing justice.

Speaker 1: 3:17

Yeah, I think we were a bit young.

Speaker 2: 3:19

Okay.

Speaker 1: 3:22

And also I think they wanted us to perform better and so that by the time you're going to the next level, you're at least somewhere, Makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 2: 3:33

Did that impact.

Speaker 1: 3:35

And then it also gave you that good experience. You learn how the school teaches. That's teaching experience, and then you continue with it as opposed to just being dropped, and you continue from where you left off so the teaching style was a bit different.

Speaker 2: 3:54

Yeah, of course so the other school, like you, didn't cover most of the work, or?

Speaker 1: 3:58

yeah, I mean we covered, but it was, it was a day school. It was one of those very local. Okay, but it was, it was a day school. It was one of those very local. You know, low budget day schools. That day we actually I think it was last year we went with my brother and my mom and, and the same pit latrine that we used to wash in the morning is still there, yeah. There are no new ones, it's just the same.

Speaker 2: 4:21

But do you understand? Now that you're an adult, you see how things run, yeah.

Speaker 1: 4:26

From how.

Speaker 2: 4:27

CDF is utilized to how much parents struggle to pay even that 200 for the security and stuff. Yeah, yeah, that's quite an experience if you think about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's, that's quite an experience if you think about it.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Yeah and uh in this case, um yeah, you get your 410 and then you go to which school I went to? Uh, the, the best school um, not only in western, but it's a national school nationally. It's a national school. Yeah, french school comes in. Yeah, yeah. So how was that? Same school as nanda? Yes, there's a national school. Eh, it's a national school. French school comes in. Same school as Nanda. There's a guy.

Speaker 2: 5:04

I was talking about. He's a really smart guy. Actually, if you've not watched his podcast, he's still here. You can go and listen to his school, Even with Alfred. We were just starting.

Speaker 2: 5:14

There's so much we can deep dive into, especially in tech and life experiences, and most of these guys are still alive, so they're still living. So we have time to go through different experiences, and actually I recorded it last year, I think a time like this, but also he lost his dad this year. He's all resting in peace. Yeah, so you go to friends camp sing. How was your first first days in friends?

Speaker 1: 5:48

like it was really. It was really good because, um, I think, getting to a space where you, you, the seniors, are very, they're very focused, they're very polished. So like you're in the right space, like you you have something where the seniors are very focused. They're very polished.

Speaker 2: 6:03

So you're in the right space.

Speaker 1: 6:05

You have something aspirational to look forward to. There's sports, there's academics, there's choir, there's a good library. So there's so much to immerse yourself into. Yeah, so it was really good.

Speaker 2: 6:17

But for you did you select computer studies as a subject no I did French and geography and physics as my option, so you never did computer.

Speaker 1: 6:31

No, I didn't do computer science or history or history. I think the only subject I decided to proceed with was French geography and physics. We learned a bit of history, a bit of business studies, but now I think after Form 2, they give people the option to select which subjects they wanted to do in Form 3 and 4. Okay, yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:57

For him it was really interesting because for him he really he made a wrong choice. I think he did music. Then his friends from, I think, j Quad and other universities. He saw what they were doing with their computers back at home during the long summer holidays and he was like man, I want to be a computer scientist, Anything else is not important.

Speaker 1: 7:20

Even other computers. Yeah, we had the computer classes it was one of the subjects and guys were doing amazing stuff. I think the science, this science fair, it was called what? Science Congress? Science Congress yeah, guys were building actual, I think, mini-basical programs at that time Using visual Using yes. Yeah, and they were competing and they were winning, they were going to nationals. It was really interesting.

Speaker 2: 7:46

So for him he went back there and he was like hey, man, give me another chance. He was like it's too late for you, it's too late. Then I eventually got that opportunity and he's the Nanda you know today from that decision yeah, so thank you so much for you. You're okay, yeah, so yeah, welcome once again to Africa's Talking Podcasts in collaboration with Impact Masters. Podcasts coming to you live from Nairobi, kenya, from Nairobi Kenya. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe Like. Follow comment.

Speaker 1: 9:00

We love that feedback.

Speaker 2: 9:03

I'm your host, michael Kemadi. Or, if you want my MK, I'm MK. Yeah, check out AfricaStalkingcom. Provide you SSD SMS mobile data airtime APIs. And today our guest, the man himself, the mover in tech, alfred Ongere. Alfred is a highly skilled product manager with over seven years of experience in technology operations, strategy and program management, specialized in multiple industries, including fintech and telecommunications, among others. He brings a proven track record in product development, team leadership and stakeholder management. He has experience in agile methodologies and committed to delivering products that are relevant.

Speaker 1: 10:14

He has experience in agile methodologies and committed to delivering products that are relevant, valuable, beautiful and simple.