A 25 year-old food vendor from Eastleigh has joined the millionaires’ league after winning Ksh1 million in the Shukrani KochoKocho consumer promotion.

Mohamud Abdikadhar Ali, who is the third born in a family of ten, works at a roadside kiosk. He dropped out of school in Class eight due to his poor background. He lost his father at a tender age and his ailing mother could not afford to keep him in school or provide for the family’s basic needs.

“I am very relieved by this win. It will really transform our lives – my siblings and I. I have had a tough time trying to make ends meet for ten years now,” he said.

Ali added, “Today is a turning point for me. I intend to become a certified Chef and start a catering business. The money will go a long way in advancing my siblings’ education and taking care of my mother’s medical expenses.”

He also wants to start a catering business in weddings and at big gatherings.

Having moved to Nairobi from Kitale at the tender age of 15, Ali looked for menial jobs within the city so as to help his mother and siblings. According to him, his current earnings are so meagre that they cannot cater for his rent and support his asthmatic mother and siblings.

Ali joins other winners in the Safaricom promo; Clesencia Osebe Guto, a 52-year old farmer from Kisii County, Nyanza region; Stephen Achola, 37, who works at a children’s home in Machakos County, Eastern region; Boniface Macharia Chege, 29-year old carpenter from Nyandarua County, Central Kenya region; Suleka Haret Nur from Garissa, North Eastern region and Hesbon Oyiel Ogwangi from Western region.

Nairobi and Coast winners will be announced in the coming week once the winners are reached.

“We are in the sixth week of this campaign and we are honored to witness the transformational stories from our customers,” said Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer, Safaricom

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