 Welcome, welcome back, the hashtag to use is hashtag entrepreneurship Tuesday. My name is Michelle Ashira, you can follow us across all our social media handle that is at Y254 channel. In my next conversation, it is an interesting one, all right. So he is advocating the aspect of that if you pick a book that might be a pointer or a point in your life that everything changes, okay. So today I am joined with Robert Mwangi. Robert Mwangi is the author of a book that we are about to go through together known as Whisper in the Jungle. He is also a former soccer player and he will tell us more, more about himself. So he is also covered on today's newspaper and the title of the article is X footballer book signing. He is going around signing on his book known as Whisper in the Jungle, okay. And he has a target and the target is over 1,260 copies. Wow, welcome, welcome, Karibusana. How are you doing? I am good, how are you? I am well, my dear Karibusana, for someone who is meeting you for the first time kindly introduce yourself. Tell us more about who you are, tell us more about Robert. Where is my camera? Your camera is here. Over here? Yes. Okay. Just to introduce myself, I am an African, I am an African. Our garden guy sits on top of the mountain and rules with lightning and thunder. When we pray, we pray facing the mountain. When we sacrifice, we sacrifice under the Mogumo tree facing the mountain. When we build our houses, we build our houses with the doors and windows facing the mountains. When we leave, we plant our food and graze our cattle here. This mountain feeds us and takes care of us when we die. We are buried here together with our ancestors. This mountain embraces us and consoles our spirit. We belong to the mountains. I am an African. I am an African. My name is Robert Mwangi and I am the author of the book Whisper in the Jungle published by Story Moji Publishers in 2019. I went to America in 2002 on a circle scholarship and I played at Oklahoma Christian University. In 2019, I wrote a book called Whisper in the Jungle and it was published by Story Moji Publishers who usually publish school related books. So I kind of broke that barrier for the first time because they actually published a fiction nonschool related for the first time. So yes, I was happy about that. Congratulations. Congratulations. And also in one of your interviews, recent interview, you said that one of the things that you plan to do is to break the world's record and inspire kids from Eastlands. So briefly, I would like to understand your background. How was life while you're still living here in Kenya? That is, you stayed in Africa? Africa Jericho. Jericho. Yes. Briefly, take us through that setup for you. So in 2000, when I was 15 years old, my mom lost a job. So I moved to Macongene, Estet. We lived in a single room with my mom and my uncle and then there was a couch in between and then a castle in there. So I slept with my uncle. There was no toilet in that room. But one day I was walking through Macongene, Estet, I saw a soccer field and I joined the boys who were playing there. They were amazing. These kids were like magicians in soccer. I started playing with these soccer kids in Macongene, Estet. And I became so talented in soccer. After that, I received a soccer scholarship to go to America. Now when I arrived... That was in 2002. That was in 2002. When I arrived in America, the Americans... First of all, I was so shocked. I've never seen so many white people in my life. There were so many white people. And then they talked to me, they spoke to me and they said, what's your name? I told them my name is Robert. They told me, that's an English name. What's your real name? What's your African name? So I told them my full names. I told them my names are Robert Mwangi. They were very surprised that I have an English name. And then they told me, you speak English so well. For the first time in my life, my name was questioned. For the first time in my life, my identity was questioned. For the first time in my life, my language was questioned. If I'm an African, why do I have an English name? If I'm an African, why do I speak English so well? So for many years in America that I lived there, I struggled with my identity. For many years that I lived in America, I had to explain to the Americans how Kenya was colonized by the British and how the colonial British imposed on us. Not just their language, but also their culture. In 2008, I was listening to Barack Obama talking when I was so shocked because I've never heard anybody talk the way Barack Obama talks. Was it inspirational to the aspect that his roots were from back in Kenya? Okay, that made me watch him. That was the first thing that drew me. Hey, a guy from Kenya. But then Barack Obama was very inspiring. I've never heard anybody talk the way Barack Obama talks. I switched on the TV for the first time and this guy was amazing. He spoke about leading by the power of our example, not the example of our power, empathizing, putting yourself in the shoes of a little boy on the other side of the ocean. That while we breathe, we hope. And when we are met with cynicism and doubt in those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with a timeless creed that sums up the spirit of our people. And I switched off the TV and I opened my laptop and I just started writing. At first, I wrote what he said and then after that, I just started writing other things. So you got lost in that moment. In your book, you say it's therapeutic, actually. The whole speech was therapeutic to you. So what sort of impact did that particular, other particular moment have to you and how did that change or transform you? So it was a life-changing moment for me. I mean, I used to write when I was a kid, silly short stories. Here was now 2000, many years later and suddenly that little boy just came back. You know, that little boy, 13-year-old boy who used to write, came right back and I just started writing. I opened my laptop, I typed every day. I came home from work, I typed. Sometimes it was a word, sometimes a sentence, sometimes a couple of pages and the days, the time into weeks. What? Poetry. No, but I love poetry. You could get the sense of energy and also interaction. Yeah, yeah, but I mean, I wrote every day and the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months and then months into a year and then I looked at what I had written. I had 600 pages. Yeah, so was born the book Whisper in the Jungle. Whisper in the Jungle. Yes. So I also like to touch on, you mentioned that it was Zyomo Kenyatta's book that is facing Mount Kenya had a level of impact also when it comes to your life. How did that impact you and by that, what do you mean? I think that's the very reason why I'm on Y254 because I was like all the youth right now. You know, I grew up listening to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. I was sagging my pants. I had a big box and I had a gold chain around my neck. That's how I grew up in Nairobi. But when I went to America, I was reminded of who I am. I am an African. I am an African. Yeah, so sorry, can you repeat the question? Yeah, I want you to find out because on your book you mentioned that. Yes, Zyomo Kenyatta. Yeah, so I was really detached from my culture. You know, while our parents diligently tried to teach us our culture, we spent a whole lot of time watching TV and watching Western culture. So when I was researching this book, I had to go get the book Facing Mount Kenya so I can learn more about my culture. Oh, why? Now you get the angle. Yeah, now you get the angle. Yes, that's interesting. So how long did you stay in the US since 2002 when you got your scholarship? And what scholarship was it? It was education or scholarship. It was a soccer scholarship, educational at Oklahoma, Christian University. All right, so what did you pursue back in school? I was doing accounting. Accounting. Yeah, and I was playing soccer at the same time. So approximately how long have you stayed in the US? So I think it's my 20th anniversary, 20 year anniversary right now. Oh, why? So you felt like you're detached to your roots. So the book helps you to connect back to your motherland. The book helped me to connect back. And the child shield show helped me to connect back because I was really lost in America. And I opened the YouTube channel and that was a time when all the comedians were coming out in Kenya. And when I was doing my research, all that stuff connected me back to Kenya. The book connected me back to Kenya because it helped me say the things that were inside me. Well, when I was writing this book, I poured my heart into the pages. You know, I just poured everything into the 600 pages. When you look at that book, that book is 200 pages only. I wrote 600 pages, you know, and then when I sent it to the publishing company, we cut it down to 200 pages. Yeah. And your book is targeted to kids? No, it's not a kid book. OK. It's a family-oriented book. Family-oriented book. Also, you mentioned that you want to tell, you love to speak to kids more and that you would like to tell those kids this particular story so that they can know that I was one of them, so they can relate to someone who is like them and know that they can do something about changing their lives. Their lives. So tell me about now the Whisper in the Jungle. What is it? What is the story all about? So Whisper in the Jungle is a story about a young boy who received the soccer scholarship to go to America. So kind of like me. Kind of like you. Kind of like me. Yeah. But right before he received the soccer scholarship to go to America, his girlfriend disappears in the jungle. So this boy, the girlfriend. Oh, the girlfriend. So the girlfriend disappears in the jungle. Jenny. Jenny. So James, the protagonist, he drops everything. He forgets about his American dream and he dashes into the forest after his girlfriend. It is a point where love transcends fear and everything else. OK. That's the storyline. Now, the deeper meaning of the book when you read it. When James goes into the forest, he undergoes a transformation where he has an identity crisis of who he is as a person. The same identity crisis that we, the current generation, are going through in a post-colonial world. Growing up, not learning our culture. And then, like me, go into America and realizing how important my culture is. Let me to quote, I believe this is one of your quotes that says that there's a point in our lives where love transcends fear, when love is stronger than anything else. Right? Yes. That was me. Yeah. So that is a conclusion of what, rather, a summary of what this book is all about. Pretty much. That is one of the strong points. Yeah, in this forest, OK. So people are disappearing into the forest in the whisper in the junk. People in the village are disappearing in the forest. The people in the village have been told, don't go into that forest. But when Jenny disappears into the forest, James does not listen to anybody. He dashes into the forest after his girlfriend. This is a point where love transcends fear. He does not care what happens to him. So we are saying that beyond our fears lies a better life. Everything we do in life, beyond our fears lies a better life. You've got to put away your fears and just go for it. All right. I'd like to find out the intention of this book as well, because I understand that you also have like a target of copied signs that you want to arrive at, which is specifically 1,260. Yes. You can have a number for that. You have a target for that. So what is your intention with just signing of copies and just selling this book? So on Thursday, we're going to be at Ophargerico High School June 2. I will be attempting to break the war record for the largest book signing ever held in Africa by an African author. I will be attempting to sign over 1,260 copies of this book. So we will be signing at the school. Everybody's invited. And one of the reasons why I'm doing this is to highlight on the reading culture in Kenya right now. It's going down. Especially with social media. Oh gosh, this weekend I went to Shaggs with my niece. He had his headphones on for the two-hour trip. He had his phone. Barely say it a single word. Now, back in our days, we didn't have gadgets. We didn't have social media. We picked up a book, and we read a book. Growing up in Kenya, I read countless of any black and famous five Franklin Dixon, Hardy Boys, and many Nancy June novels. These are the books that made me write this book. Those books taught me how to write this book. They had that level of impact in your life. Yes, because they were serious. And you get one, and you read another one, and you can't put them down. And it gets grounded inside you, and you become it. Yeah. I also like it. Your story is very interesting. You come from a very humbling background. And then there was level of opportunities in your life. And you chased your dreams. And you continued to do what you loved, which is Soka. And then, you know, I would like to call it like the love of being a writer or the brew out also from that. I would like to understand from where you are, how you're giving back to the society in the context of people who also come from a humbling background as Robert came from. And now Robert is there speaking about his accomplishments in life. So what sort of how are you giving back to the society in that level? So we launched the book in 2019. And then COVID hit. We did a book launch here, and we did a book launch in Denver. And then COVID came. You can't do a book signing. So we sat down, and I had a marketing manager in Kenya, because I'm in America. I said, let's go look at the school libraries in Kenya and see what they look like. We went and looked at the school libraries. They looked the same way they looked 20 years ago. So it was like, OK, I think I can do something here. So we went to Isili Boys High School. We donated books, a worth $50,000. We went to Aquinas High School. We went to a couple of children's home. So we kept going from library to library. And we always made sure we got them African writers so that the kids can enjoy African-written books. One of the best things we did was we went to my village in Nyeri. And the kids there, the school they had, they had never seen a library in their whole life. So I got together with Dr. Brandon, who is my kids' dentist. And he wrote me a big check. We went to my village. We studied a library in my village. And those kids were, I mean, the joy that was in there, just to be, we called them little librarians. They were like, yeah, they love that library so much. Yeah, it's amazing, yeah. So according to the book whispers, James sees the protagonist, forgets about his dream of going to America and he follows after Jenny. But now this is quite a twist from the real story. Is James here? Is James Robert? Kind of me, yeah. But is there that twist of that particular story whereby? Because you went after your dreams. Was Jenny in the picture before you went to chase after your dreams? You're tricking me. That's a trick question. But here's the thing. When I started writing that book, James was me. OK. Yeah. But afterwards, when I was doing my research, I went to the library. And I got books from Gugiwati Ongo and Chinua Cheb because I wanted to see what they were writing about, too. And I learned from them. And I realized that the genius of Gugiwati Ongo was that he told the story from his heart. The story he told was what was happening right outside there. I realized that my story is not my story. This is the story of our generation. This is the post-colonial generation. So don't try to trap me with it. I tried my best. I tried my best, my people. I wanted to find out if Jenny's still in the picture. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not answering that. But there's something I want to add. I forgot to say that everything I've been doing has been in partnership with Storymoja and Textbook Center. I haven't been doing this alone. I'm really far away in America. So Textbook Center and Storymoja, they have been spearheading everything for me. And I'm grateful to them for that. They actually, even Textbook Center, went all the way to Nyeri in the mountains in the village on my behalf. And I'm grateful to that. Also something I forgot. Apsa Bank is also donating computers, a computer library to Ufa Fajariko High School on Thursday the same time that I'll be donating books more than worth more than half a million dollars to Ufa Fajariko High School. So I wanted to give them credit for that. Fantastic, fantastic. All right, so if anyone wants to reach out to you, Robert, and they want to keep the conversation going, they will also like to be part of just the whole team that will be going to Ufa Fajariko High School and giving out this particular amazing book, Whispers in the Jungle. How can they keep the conversation with you? How can they reach out to you? Your camera is on the tray. So you can go on, I'm very old school. I'm not very much on social media. So on Facebook, Whispers in the Jungle, you can follow the book there. And so that way you can get the sequel, yeah. And my email is mrobertowithdabuti at yahoo.com if you need to follow up. You can show up on Thursday and get a copy of Whispers in the Jungle signed and we can break the world record together. And you can go to textbookcenter.www.textbookcenter and also get the book from there too. All right, thank you very much, Robert, for creating time to be with us and taking us through this amazing book. I feel like you're doing an amazing job, especially with the initiative of just giving back to the society. And I feel like building everyone's mental capacity is one of the outstanding way to just give back to the society because that is something you cannot take away from someone which is mental growth through building capacity and reading books. Yes, I want the kids to believe in themselves. I want them to believe in their talents. Go get a job, yes, but never forget about your talent. Your talent is who you are. You can go work in construction. After construction, go home, take your music, take your book, read it, but never forget your talent. That's who you are. Thank you very much, Robert. Yeah. Here is Robert Mwangi, a former KCB soccer player and currently an author of this amazing book known as Whispers in the Jungle. So make sure you keep the conversation going. Make sure you follow up with him as an amazing, amazing initiative that will be happening on Thursday at Ofafa Jericho High School, right? Yes. Fantastic, fantastic. So we've come to the end of the show. Remember, our time frame is usually from 7 a.m. till 10 a.m. My name is Michelle Ashira. You can follow me across all my social media handles. That is at Michelle Ashira at Y254 channel. It's where you can find us across all our social media handles. Remember the hashtag is always on Tuesdays. It's entrepreneurship Tuesday. So see you until next time. Have an amazing day. Keep it right here on your number one station. We have an amazing, amazing programs that will be coming your way. All right, so have a nice day. Take care of yourself. Angel Lampons.