One of Kenyan Bulletin top fan has forwarded an exclusive story of Samuel Tanui, a Kalenjin man who fetches water to poor villages for free, feeds and schools his 6 children on the handout donations that villagers give him.
Disclaimer: The story was not detailed much, but it’s worth your time to read and watch the exclusive videos, though recorded on a phone with low pixels.
The man pictured here is Samuel Tanui from Keibo Village, Kesemgei constituency in Nandi County. The picture was taken while he was on his ‘official’ duty of helping young kids, women and men fetch water in a flowing and crab filled River.
Tanui is an orphan that never saw his father and his late mother died of HIV and AIDS when he was at age 5. He’s from a family of 3, two brothers and one sister. One of his brothers vanished from the village ages ago after the mother died. The other elder brother is a boozer who lives hopelessly waiting for his day to breathe the last oxygen on earth.
Tanui lives with his wife at their parental home that neighbours sold a huge part of the land to feed and take care of them at a younger age. His sister, a single mother of two that has brains issues ‘madwoman’ also depends on what Tanui gets from his voluntary work. Well it’s not even work.
Keibo village, just like many villages in Kenya has no tapped water and the only source of freshwater is a flowing River that people and animals share waters to quench their thirst. The river has no designated watering points something that gave Tanui a nitch to use his hopeless, to say the least life and regain hopes of poor villagers.
Tanui cleared one of the bushy places and wakes up every morning to go and stand in the water the whole day helping the villagers get fresh water to use in their daily lives. Some villagers give him milk, others as fewer coins as a shilling, while others they can only afford a KONGOI, which loosely translates to THANK YOU.
Even though he is unemployed, Samuel Tanui is a normal functioning man living with the fact that he has never ever stepped his foot in a school. This is also another reason why orphans grow up to be either most learned and depressed folks or totally illiterate and impoverished like Tanui unfortunately is.
He might be illiterate but that doesn’t mean he will treat his 6 children the same way the villagers left them to survives as grown-ups. Tanui has a family of 6, gender of kids wasn’t specified.
Three of his kids are in primary school and two are in a public secondary school in Nandi county. Yes, Samuel Tanui, the voluntary water fetcher is also supposed to pay extra expenses like the uniform, books, pen and any other of all the necessities required in High school.
By the time this story was being taken, Samuel Tanui had a fee balance Ksh 6,000, which we (those who sported what Tanui does) managed to settle half of the sum. I have to note that, the current balance is unknown since this site has no direct contact with Tanui to Confirm the actual figures.
Kenyan Bulletin has a copy letter of what Samuel Tanui was required to buy and settle before the end of this year. Here is a list of details and requirements Tanui ought to have, according to the letter, has settled.
Efforts to get direct contact of the area Chief were unsuccessful since he had travelled to the unspecified area on non-official duties. His calls did go through, according to the source on the ground.
However, we managed to speak to one of the villagers who fetches water to ‘wealthy’ villagers amongst the poor at a fee of Sh5 for 40 litter of water. And he, just as the whole story is, confirmed all the details and information Samuel Tanui had given.
Kipkogei Philemon, a father of 4, three boys one girl, who shares half of what he gets thrice a week with Tanui said Tanui is in absolute poverty but that has never broken his heart. He remain a jovial man throughout.
“Huyu Tanu, ako na mtoto sita na hii ndio kazi yake, hajasoma sasa akuna mtu anaeza mpea kazi ya kusaidia watoto wake,” Kipgogei said.
Kipgogei fetches water for local eating houses and two families who bought land in the near area. He gets a sum of 200 to 500 per week which he shares with Tanui voluntarily. He’s the main sponsor of what Tanui depends on. At one time, Tanui said if Kipkogei decides not to give him anything or he doesn’t get jobs, he begs for food from anyone who comes to fetch water. Just to get something to feed his family.
So we asked Tanui why doesn’t he plant farm products on his farm. Tanui said the only remaining part of his land is a stone-filled Hill that can’t sustain the growth of crops. He is also not allowed to quarry the stones since the area is prone to landslides.
Here are the videos of Samuel Tanui at the Riverside.
Tanui has no postal address nor phone number, he lives in total darkness from social or mainstream media. He only knows a few Kenyan leaders, His governor Sang and DP William Ruto tops the list of politicians he little knows about.
The only way to reach Samuel Tanui is by tracing him physically back at Keibo village in Kesemgei, Nandi. Tanui also would want to meet DP Ruto or governor Sang.
Kenyan Bulletin says, Samuel Tanui’s life story, though we’ve highlighted in half bits due to less information sent to us, is the living proof of people living on mercy as they offer the same as a reward. As Kipchoge the Marathon champion says, No Human is limited and One-day Tanui and many living in the same or almost the lifestyle will see the blessings from whatever the superhuman being they worship or believe in.
