Pages

Saturday, September 1, 2012

A matatu tout who never shouts


A matatu tout who never shouts

  SHARE BOOKMARKPRINTEMAILRATING
Matatu tout Benard Kiogothi during work. Mr Kiogothi, despited being deaf, has been working as a tout for 11 years. Photo/STEPHEN MUKHONGI
Matatu tout Benard Kiogothi during work. Mr Kiogothi, despited being deaf, has been working as a tout for 11 years. Photo/STEPHEN MUKHONGI 
By CARLOS MUREITHI carlosmureithi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Friday, August 31  2012 at  23:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Kiogothi uses sign language to call out to passengers and his lip reading skills to tell their destination
From the conductor’s seat, he leans out of the matatu’s window to beckon prospective passengers, indicating with a two- or three-finger sign the fare he is charging depending on the time of the day.
Between the fingers of Bernard Kiogothi’s right hand are currency notes while the coins are in his palm.
The Route 11 matatu makes a stop at the Ngara stage, just outside the Nairobi city centre.
“Highridge?” a prospective passenger enquires from outside the van.
Conductor Kiogothi, dressed in the official maroon uniform, simply gives the two-finger sign to indicate that the fare is Sh20. He calmly opens the door and the passenger steps in.
In an industry known for its noisy, rowdy and unruly touts, Mr Kiogothi stands out – he works in silence.
The 36-year-old deaf and mute man has spent a good part of his life in the matatu industry in Nairobi.
“I have worked as a matatu conductor for 11 years,” he says using sign language. He adds that he worked along the Gachie route for six years before changing to the Highridge one.
At the bus stop another matatu conductor will call out for passengers on his behalf. For this, Kiogothi parts with a small fee, Sh20 at most. When all 14 seats are occupied, however, Mr Kiogothi takes charge of the vehicle.
Share This Story
  
While collecting the bus fare, he uses his fingers to ask where each passenger intends to alight. He understands his passengers’ response by reading their lips, a skill that he is quite adept at. And in case of a misunderstanding with a commuter, he seeks the driver’s intervention.
On this particular day a passenger says he wants to alight at the Inoorero stage. Mr Kiogothi cannot understand him, so he seeks help from the driver, who listens and drops off the passenger at desired stop.
Mr Kiogothi works for 16 hours a day from Monday to Saturday. “I wake up at 4am, get to the car’s parking location at Ngara by the next hour and then we work from 5am to 9pm,” he says.
The six-day routine involves 13 trips daily between Highridge and the Central Business District. The matatu owner expects a certain amount of money each evening. The balance, Mr Kiogothi says, is sufficient to sustain a decent living for the driver and himself.
Commuters on the Highridge route have no problem boarding a matatu that has a hearing-impaired conductor. In fact, some marvel at how he conducts his business. One such passenger, Ms Mary Nduta, a fruit seller, is full of praise for Mr Kiogothi. She said: “He is gentle when asking people to board his matatu.”
Work ethic and attitude
The driver, Mr John Wainaina, has a lot of admiration for him too, saying: “I couldn’t have gotten a more effective person to work with.
“After observing Kiogothi’s work ethic and attitude at the Odeon stage, I introduced him to my employer. “We have been working together for the past year.”
Mr Kiogothi’s colleagues hold him in equally high regard. Mr Kagai Njoroge, a matatu driver on the Highridge route, says they do not discriminate against him.
“He is one of us. We treat him well. He is different, in that he can’t steal from you,” says Mr Njoroge.
Mr Kiogothi, the first-born in his family, lives in a single-room house in Zimmerman, off Thika Road. His mother and three siblings live in Nyeri County, where he grew up. He attended Tumutumu Primary School and Kerugoya Secondary School, both for the hearing-impaired.
The matatu business was his first undertaking after school and now Mr Kiogothi, who enjoys driving, hopes to make the move from the conductor’s to the driver’s seat: “I hope to acquire a driving licence once I raise money for the test.”

19 comments:

  1. I pay a visit day-to-day some websites and sites to
    read content, however this webpage offers feature based posts.
    Also see my website :: vakantiehuisje

    ReplyDelete
  2. Whats up very cool website!! Man .. Excellent .

    . Amazing .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally?

    I'm happy to search out numerous helpful info right here in the publish, we want work out extra strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

    Feel free to surf to my site; lernmedium.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to
    be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I'm not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I'd post
    to let you know. The style and design look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon.
    Thanks

    Check out my blog post: buy solar panels colorado

    ReplyDelete
  4. Today, I went to the beachfront with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to
    my 4 year old daughter and said "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She
    placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and
    it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic
    but I had to tell someone!

    Also visit my weblog ... http://www.latiendatierraverde.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely
    well written article. I will make sure to bookmark
    it and come back to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post.
    I will certainly comeback.

    Also visit my site :: dysfunctional family survival kit

    ReplyDelete
  6. In fact when someone doesn't know then its up to other people that they will help, so here it happens.

    Visit my web blog :: stretch mark creams

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors
    or if you have to manually code with HTML. I'm starting a blog soon but have no coding skills so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Visit my weblog; how to get rid of stretch marks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful goods from you, man. I've understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely excellent. I really like what you've
    acquired here, certainly like what you're stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it smart. I can not wait to read much more from you. This is really a terrific website.

    Here is my web site; gites frankrijk

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be okay. I'm absolutely
    enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.


    Here is my web site - retrobeurs

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's an amazing paragraph designed for all the web people; they will get benefit from it I am sure.

    Also visit my web-site :: mederma stretch mark therapy reviews

    ReplyDelete
  11. Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog
    and in accession capital to assert that I get in fact enjoyed account your blog posts.
    Anyway I'll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.

    Feel free to visit my web page ... ja.etnopedia.org

    ReplyDelete
  12. Greetings! Very helpful advice within this
    post! It's the little changes that produce the biggest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!

    Also visit my page :: koerier arnhem vacature

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hurrah! In the end I got a website from where I be capable of truly obtain valuable
    facts concerning my study and knowledge.

    Take a look at my web blog; vakantiehuis frankrijk huren

    ReplyDelete
  14. you are truly a excellent webmaster. The site loading speed is incredible.
    It kind of feels that you're doing any unique trick. In addition, The contents are masterpiece. you've done a wonderful
    activity in this topic!

    Here is my blog post ... magic flight launch box

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
    I'm planning to start my own website soon but I'm a little lost on everything.
    Would you suggest starting with a free platform like Wordpress or go for a paid option?
    There are so many options out there that I'm totally overwhelmed .. Any recommendations? Thanks a lot!

    Stop by my web blog :: france travel advisory

    ReplyDelete
  16. Quality articles is the main to interest the visitors to go
    to see the website, that's what this website is providing.

    Here is my web blog frances perkins definition

    ReplyDelete
  17. We are a bunch of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our
    community. Your web site offered us with valuable information to work on.
    You've done a formidable job and our whole community will likely be thankful to you.

    Check out my page; huis huren frankrijk

    ReplyDelete
  18. These are really great ideas in concerning blogging.
    You have touched some pleasant things here. Any way keep up wrinting.


    Feel free to visit my homepage - vakantiewoning frankrijk huren ()

    ReplyDelete
  19. I need to to thank you for this great read!! I certainly
    loved every little bit of it. I have got you
    book-marked to look at new stuff you post…

    My web site :: vakantiehuisje frankrijk

    ReplyDelete