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10.naive

The first time I arrived at my destination (the barracks ) it dawned on me how naive I, had been. Trusting and believing in everything said, a submissive stupid lady ready to follow orders at all costs.

The guards at the main gate welcomed us with sweet congratulatory utterances and requested us to put our belongings at our feet as we stood there queuing in a group of people's both genders combined while we wait for a van to ferry us to the other side of the training since it was a good 2km walking distance .this was after blowing a whistle that almost ruined my eardrums,from where we were assembled sharing small talks with our group.

all the other groups responded by dispersing from their group mode talks and walking to where our boxes were arranged in a three by three formula totalling to 45 people each as said earlier. we were instructed via demonstration to lift our boxes to our heads and starting walking by stepping first with our left legs all together at the same time at the command of our leader we were advised to hum left right and make sure to step on the hummed leg as we walked,a lot of walking inconsistency was involved in our journey,fear was properly sold to us.

whoever missed the step got a piece of bonoko and from the looks of it ,it must have been very painful .our leader had no mercy to show,he had the confidence of a lion about to feed on its prey. he directed us majestically to our destination without a care of whatever load was heaped on our head's. i felt like giving up every time he commanded we hum loudly together ,i felt my lungs constrict at the pain i was subjected to and tears almost flew down my cheeks, and i heard him say.
"tears are for babies,i believe everyone here is capable of being a mother or a father".

who doesn't have an identity card here?i almost yelled my name when it hit my confused mind that i was in no position to play mind games with a uniformed officer, i might find myself in hot soup and it was not in my agenda right now. seemed like i wasn't the only one,the guy to my right fell down with his box on top of him and believe me he saw fire .we were told that soldiers don't leave a fellow in the jungle and so we had to wait for him infill he put himself back together and found the strength to continue with the journey .all this while we were there aching to our feet's waiting for him.

we got our first lesson right there.

1.united we stand divided we fall.

if we supported each other we were surely gonna make it since one,s person mistake was everyone mistake and we faced the same wrath .you had to become your brothers keeper always ,either way there was no music for one guitar .we all had to learn to live with each others strengths and weaknesses failure to which we would all dance. and believe me nobody loved dancing especially when your group consisted of 90|% weak people the wrath was unbearable .

by the time we reached the main campus field our feet's were already sore struggling to fit in their shoes and there we found our lesson two and three respectively.

2.no talking back to your superior no matter how wrong they were,and always address them as sir /madam.

3.no whispering .

as we put our boxes down we learnt our Fourth lesson.

4.no doing anything no matter how small without an order from your superiors .and to drive their point home we were ordered to put the boxes back on our head until the order came ,the boxes went down as soon as the order came ,people were adjusting with the new climate and rules,the order to sit on the bare flour followed and we formed a queue on it,until we arrived at the table where each person signed their respective forms and got a ticket that separated us ,that lead to our new housing unit.

i got a ticket that read thika town and i took all my time before my mind loaded that it was a housing unit inside the training camp and not a town as i had thought .i was to recite a request of any direction towards the said barrack with my box on top of my head,i lost track twice and headed to two wrong barracks before i finally saw the name inscribed at a far corner and that was my cue to keep going. as i was entering the said barrack i used a shortcut that had grass and the uniformed lady in waiting commanded me to go back and follow the road. i lost all strength and put the box down ,i couldn't put up with this bullshit any more,i couldn't.

the lady saw my confused tired state and allowed me in after registering on entry .i thanked the stars that finally i was inside the great thika barrack,my only fear was how the commander in charge was going to receive me after i had rested .rumours had it that she was a force to reckon with, a devil who didn't care what she had to put you through to attain your full attention and discipline ,an ex mathare .i guess i was really going to change either way i had found my match ,and she was going to mould all my missing pieces back. i hoped i could handle the stiffness ,roughness maybe.
i deserved whatever would come my way,i intended it i asked for it ,when i gave up high school for this,
solely
and purely.
i was going to put my all in this even if it meant me loosing my soul in the process.