The evergreen and serene surroundings of the famous Moi Garden at the heart of Kericho’s Central Business District has for years served as a relaxing and recreational park place for members of the public but is now transforming into a safe haven for a majority of online workers after the launch of the free Public Wi-Fi by the national government.
Barely two weeks after the Information Communication and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo launched the free public Wi-Fi, residents whose work entails the use of internet to execute their business have had it smooth and easy way now that they have been saved the cost of incurring data charges.
And from a spot check by KNA, the youthful population in the town seems to have heeded the CS’s plea of capitalizing on the free internet connectivity to tap into the available digital platforms that offer jobs such as online writing, transcription, affiliate marketing, and product reviewing jobs among others.
From as early as 7 am a number of youths can be spotted, some with laptops and a majority with smartphones securing comfortable spaces where the internet connection is strongest in order to accomplish their digital tasks in good time.
Brian Cheruiyot a 26-year-old graduate from the University of Kabianga confides that since he graduated two years ago, he has not been able to secure a formal job but his online ventures such as captioning and data entry jobs have sustained his livelihood.
“The Public Wi-Fi has really come in handy in enabling me to complete my online assignments without the worry of incurring data charges and the environment is great, it’s like working from a national park since there are lots of monkeys around,” said Cheruiyot.
He further says that for the last two weeks; he leaves his house at 6:45 am daily heading to the Moi Gardens to utilize the free internet which he says at times it gets slow as the day progresses and as the park fills up with internet users.
“By afternoon, the garden is usually parked with people accessing the Wi-Fi making it a bit slow and that is why I have to rise early in order to utilize faster internet during the morning hours.” added Cheruiyot.
According to Cheruiyot, digital jobs are equally good for earning a decent living that enables him to pay his rent and fend for his basic needs and urged more jobless youth to follow suit instead of waiting for white collar jobs which are hard to come by.
“These jobs are fun and they have no requirements such as dress code, and one can work from literally anywhere as long as one has an internet and a laptop, and some jobs are available during the late-night hours,” added Cheruiyot.
Other people who congregate at the public park to utilize the free public Wi-Fi include Gedion Mutai a commercial photographer popularly referred to as Gifted Grapher who uses the internet in his photography business to edit and send photographs to clients via email.
“It has made my work easy since I don’t have to incur data charges in my work and nowadays clients are demanding high-quality photographs sent to their emails,” said Mutai.
As for Mercy Chepkorir a student from the University of Kabianga, Kericho Town Campus, she utilizes the serene sections of the park to study and carry out academic research using the free public Wi-Fi.
“One of my hobbies is reading and researching and so during my free leisure times I prefer spending at the park where I am able to download Pdf books online and also complete my school assignments using the free public Wi-Fi,” Chepkorir said.
By the year 2027, the government aims to have rolled out 25,000 hotspots to cover 1,450 villages targeting people in markets, schools, and various value chains within the Kenyan economy.
The government is also in the process of rolling out 100,000 Kilometres fibre optic cable to ensure all parts of the country are ICT enabled.
By Kibe Mburu and Jemmima Chemutai
