Awili: From cleaner to hotshot hotel manager

When Joshua Awili’s father passed away after a short illness in 2005, his world crumbled. Awili’s dream of becoming a journalist was shattered and he had to quickly grow up and take his father’s place as the head of the house.

“I had just finished high school. My hopes of getting a university education faded away. I started looking for a job to at least sustain myself and my three siblings and sickly mother,” he says.

His sister, who was in high school, dropped out in Form 3 due to lack of school fees. His younger brother, who was in Standard 8, had to repeat three times as Awili figured out how he would educate him.

As life continued, he had to make the tough decision of moving to Mombasa. After staying with his uncle for some time, he secured a job with Connerstone Security as a security guard in Tudor. Awili manned the KPA houses.

“I was on night shift and we were paid Sh100 a day, cumulating to Sh3,000 a month. The take away after deductions was between Sh2,400 and Sh2,600 a month,” he says.

The money was not enough to take care of his sickly mother and three siblings, so he had to quit. His job-hunt would land him in the hotel industry. He secured a casual job at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa as an entry point cleaner.

Here, he would impress his bosses with his dedication and save enough for a diploma course in business management at the Technical University of Mombasa.

“I divided my 24 hours into four quarters. I would work at Whitesands during morning hours and go to TUM at 4pm as a part-time student. I would later head straight to Travellers hotel where I worked as a kitchen steward till around 6am,” Awili says.

He would then go home freshen up and head to Whitesands again.

“It was hectic. I barely slept. I used to sleep for two hours only and my body started acting up. I was fatigued and fell sick frequently. I did that for three months and decided it was unsustainable. I had to quit the Travellers Hotel job,” Awili says.

By this time he had moved out of his uncle’s house and had rented a Sh1,800-per-month house.

BREAKTHROUGH

With the little he was making he ensured his sister went back to school. She had to start from Form 1 after staying at home for almost three years.

“She went up to college and is now working and has her own family. My brother finally went to high school, completed, went to college and is a family man too,” Awili says.

Meanwhile, his dedication to his work saw him promoted several times and ended up being the sales assistant at Whitesands, a position he says laid the ground for his breakthrough.

With the support of his bosses, Awili’s ambition grew. He moved to the Sarova Hotels’ head office in Nairobi, then to PrideInn Hotels where he was the reservations manager, before heading back to Sarova as a sales account manager focusing on the leisure and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) business segments.

When Covid-19 struck, Awili got an opportunity as a sales manager at the Taita Hills and Salt Lick, whose management contract with Sarova Hotels had ended. He works there to date and is currently writing a book to inspire youth who have dreams.

“The book is especially for those who come from humble backgrounds and have to work it out from scratch,” the manager says.

“If you have somebody who can support you, then it’s good. But if you have to do it by yourself, then don’t give up. Do not only put your focus on the white collar jobs.”

According to Awili, the secret is in hard work and focus. “Have a positive attitude, stay focused, remind yourself every day that you can do it,” he says.

You have the same blood, same energy, same strength, you were born and raised a strong Kenyan and African.”

“You eat ugali like the others and you can work. Actually, we are stronger than we think. You have 24 hours to work yourself out,” he says.

Awili said most young people spend a lot of time on things that make the body weak instead of focusing on things than can develop one as a person.

“I am advising young people not to spend a lot of time sleeping. Sleeping is good. In fact, I sleep for eight hours straight and I enjoy it. But don’t oversleep and don’t spend a lot of time during the day on activities that are not useful,” he says.

Had he lost hope, he would not have been able to uplift his family.

“Take up any job that comes your way and make sure you save money to get an education. There are very many opportunities out here for well-educated people.”