Felix Odiwuor popularly known as Jalang'o is arguably among the most celebrated comedians and media personalities in the country. The story of his rise from nothing to one of the leading figures in Kenya perfectly describes the axiom "from grass to grace".
He hails from a poor background and it is safe to say, Kenyans have witnessed part of his growth since his debut on national television.
In a 2017 segment of Hot 96 FM's A Story a Day, Jalang'o revealed to Jeff Koinange that his father wrote him a letter asking him to build his mother a house and educate his siblings before he died.
At the time, the comedian did was struggling to make ends meet, but he worked hard to support his family back home despite the little income. His father was impressed by the sacrifice he put into trying to make a living for himself and support them.
"The saddest part is that when my father was sick, I did not have the money to take care of him. It is not like it was too serious a disease that could not be cured, but even if it was a common cold, I would not have had enough money to take care of him," Jalang'o recounted.
He revealed that his father passed away the same day he landed his first job. When he went home for the burial, he was met with the letter that his dad had left him.
"When I got home for his burial, I got a letter that he had written where he told me that things were not looking good on his side, and if he never got well, it would be my duty to build my mother a home and [ensure] my brothers go to school," he recalled.
When Jalang'o returned to Nairobi from the burial, he had set himself one goal in life, to achieve success for the sake of his family, as was his father's wish.
As of 2017, one of his brothers had graduated from university and had a job of his own.
"My younger called Locks has never seen trouble. By the time he came to Nairobi, he already had everything set for him. He has never tasted trouble. All he does is add tattoos on his body and look good and dress well," he narrated.
His other brother Josh graduated from the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) while his sister is happily married.
Jalang'o has since built a house for his mother at their Siaya home.
After supporting his siblings through school, he also went back to school to realise his long-term goals.
"Sometimes, when you see us in class, it is not that we want to be in class now. We could have been in class early enough, but it was not the right time, but now, it is the right time," he said.
He intimated that the reason he chose to pursue a bachelor's degree in community development was so that he could give back to the community which had made him the person he is.
"I really want to go back to the community and work, at whichever position, even in an NGO just to give back to the community, to be able to look back and thank God for helping me impact the community," he revealed.
