Sauti Sol’s Bien Baraza and his siblings had a very flashy childhood that was admired by many which eventually turned into abject poverty in a split second before they all knew it and they had to adjust. From grace to grass as they say.
Bien and his siblings grew up in a well-to-do family for a better part of their childhood having anything and everything they ever wanted at their disposal. Their life was so good by then, eating life with a big spoon I may say. They were so privileged having lived in one of Nairobi’s leafy suburbs, Kilimani, and going to the most expensive schools in Nairobi.
Narrating his ordeal through Sol Family’s YouTube platform Engage Talk, Bien recalled how his dad had visitors at his doorstep from morning to morning all seeking for support from him be it financial or psychological and he was ever ready and willing to offer help to anyone who came to him. He was their super hero. All was going well until life hit them from a different angle in the year 2000 when his dad lost his job in one of the biggest NGOs whose projects he directed, and his mother got retrenched as well, all this happening at the same time.
Life was hitting them hard. They had to leave the posh life for a simpler and affordable life. They changed schools and relocated to a smaller house where they survived on a diet of githeri which became their staple food since their parents had no income at all, having searched for employment opportunities and sending numerous job applications tirelessly with no success until they gave up on it.
This major blow that life gave them taught him life lessons. Their life had changed
forever. Since he never wanted to go back to the kind of life he had when growing up, he learned to always work hard to have a better life, to show love to those who
showed him love, to always save, and to be careful with those he entertained in his
life.
Check out the speech below:
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