“Getting into the national team is a big honour despite the challenges that were there. At least I have made a step that I never knew would come,” he told Mozzart Sport.
His reaction is rooted in experiences that have forced him to confront adversity from a young age.
“Looking at my football life, I started as a fisherman on the lake. I moved from the lake, and at one point I nearly quit football. My lifestyle has shown me a lot at a young age.
I was once in the streets, so I learnt to push myself to the limit. Then one day someone got me off the streets and stood with me for quite some time,” he added.
After the transformation that took him away from street life, he moved to Kisumu, where he found himself turning to the lake for survival.
That period became another chapter in an unusual football journey as he combined fishing with training and gradually developed his goalkeeping abilities.
“From that point, I managed to take care of myself while also balancing training and fishing. I used to train with a local team in Kisumu known as Rotter United. They played in Division Two, and they helped me step up,” he said.
The challenges of those formative years have since become part of his armour, giving him the perspective to absorb disappointments without losing sight of the bigger picture.
“Life has its challenges and lessons to pick from. Those challenges pushed me to the limit,” he said.
Even after committing himself to football, there was no guarantee that the sport would provide him with a career.
That belief began to change when he earned an opportunity with Leads United of Nairobi.
“I realised I could make it in football when I was called by Leads United. When I got that chance, I knew I could also do it. Again, at Leads I did not stay long like the majority of people,” he explained.
