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LIFE STORY
LIFE STORY
Paul Nyainda: A Seaman With a Passion
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Our Managing Editor George Sunguh talked to Paul Nyainda, one of the Kenyan youths working on board MSC Cruises and shares his story.
man can desire a thing so Adeeply that he stakes his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it,” Napoleon Hills, an American Self-Help author wrote in his book:Think and Grow Rich,” Perhaps this is the tenacity that Paul Nyainda, a Kenyan Marine Engineer has clung on to nurse his childhood dream of becoming a sailor to come true. Paul, 28, today works as one of the Engine Cadet Officers onboard MSC Splendida, a luxurious passenger liner operated by Italy’s MSC Cruises. He is one of the Kenyan youths to benefit from the agreement signed between the Kenya government and the Geneva based Mediterranean Shipping Company in August, 2018 to send at least 2000 young Kenyan seafarers to sea annually for the next five years. The fire in Paul to become a sailor was ignited at the tender age of seven while in class two at Nairobi's Lavington Primary School. He read a book titled: 'The Adventure of Tintin,' written by a Belgian cartoonist -Georges Remi - which was one of the most popular thEuropean comics of the 20 Century. Paul was instantly inspired by the exploits of Captain Archibald Haddock, one of the fictional characters in the book, so much that he instantly wanted to be like this star.
LIFE STORY
Paul Nyainda receiving his Contract and Air Ticket from President Uhuru Kenyatta during the flagging off of the 61 Seafarers going to work on board MSC Cruise Ships and Commissioning of the Bandari Maritime Academy in Mombasa.
Above is MSC Splendida on which Paul Nyainda works
In years to come, Paul would re-read this book countless times and even bolstered it by watching its film series. His playmates listened with owe as he kept them entertained with gripping narratives of his star captain and other characters in the book. The young Paul, at every opportunity saw himself as Captain Haddock and secretly swore to also one day sail to the glamorous far flung cities of the world ‘filled with opulence. ’ During his days at Njoro Boys High School, within Kenya's Nakuru County, Paul laid his hands on yet another trans-formative book.This time he read a novel by Tom Clancy titled:“The Hunt for Red October” an American submarine spy thriller which once again stoked the fire burning in the young man's belly of becoming a sailor. “These two books gave me the drive to become a seafarer. ” In the year 2000 the young Paul had the opportunity to set his eyes on the first ship during a family visit to Lake Victoria port of Kisumu. He saw the MV Uhuru - the pride of East African Community - anchored at the Kisumu pier. He was instantly fascinated by the ship's size and splendour. At its prime, the ship formed one of East Africa's economic key nerves as it linked the lake ports of Kisumu in Kenya, Mwanza in Tanzania and Uganda's Port Bell with ease. Paul was so mesmerized by the beauty of the ship after this visit. He began building models of the ship using plywood to the delight of his friends. Napoleon Hill in his book says 'thoughts are powerful when mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence and a burning desire,' can indeed make dreams come true. As the young Paul continued to ‘sleep walk’ in his dream of becoming a Marine Captain, his dream one day hit headwinds. His mother Mrs Lucy Ngure who was his only confidant at this stage would hear none of this and adamantly opposed the idea when he shared his childhood dream with her for the first time. Widowed while Paul was only eight years old, Mrs Ngure dreaded the inherent feeling of loneliness while her only child globetrotted the far flung cities dotting shores of the world. After persistently gagging his mother with the seafaring ambition, she one day looked the boy in the eyes and gave him a stern warning: “Sita kubali ukuwe makanga wa Meli,” (loosely translated to mean, I will never allow you to be a tout in a ship.) The poor boy was left speechless, helpless and devastated. The humanly ultimate authority in his life had said ‘NO’ to his childhood dream.What next, he cracked his head. After a deep thought and careful consideration of the best next move, Paul decided to seek the help of his favourite aunt, Dr. Perpetual Ndung'u, a lecturer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) whom he knew was one of his mother's best friends. It was Dr. Ndung'u who persuaded Paul's mother to let the young man pursue his dream of working on board the ships. The mother finally, though reluctantly, gave that all important parental nod. This instantly replenished Paul with more vigour to continue pursuing his fantasy. After high school Paul enrolled for a five year degree course in Marine Engineering at the JKUAT in 2010. After the successful completion of his degree course he enrolled for a Cadets Course at the National Youths Service College and a series of other courses in readiness for his dream job. In 2015 he took the mandatory Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) course, which is the minimum standard of competence required for seagoing seafarers, at the then Bandari College in Mombasa - now Bandari Maritime Academy. This was followed by a six months of sea time onboard a training ship T/S 'Hanbada' at Korea Maritime and Ocean University in Busan, Korea. Paul bolstered his preparations for the sea with another of short course in Manila, Philippines.
“Opportunity does not waste time with those who are unprepared,” the saying goes. So in August 2018, when the Kenya government signed an agreement with the Geneva based Mediterranean Shipping Company to have Kenyan youth work onboard its fleet of cruise ships, Paul was one of the pioneer beneficiaries. Paul's journey to Yokohama to take his inaugural job on a cruise ship started with boarding a Turkish Airlines flight from Moi International Airport in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa.A six hour flight to Istanbul in Turkey where he had a 15 hour stopover before taking another 12 hour flight to Tokyo in Japan.To reach the port city of Yokohama where he had to join his ship, he took a bus. In Yokohama, he put up in a hotel for one week awaiting the arrival of MSC Splendida.All expense paid. On 14th September, 2019, Paul, boarded the MSC Splendida in Yokohama Japan effectively continuing his career as a seaman – his life-long dream. “Being onboard a cruise ship for the first time was a whole new experience. Much different from the cargo ships I had worked on before,” said Paul. He found many crew on board the ship. “Everything is fast paced here. It was a total eye opener and a very good learning curve. ” “For starters,” he says “the machinery on cruise ships are much more compared to those on cargo ships and the work is a lot more involving.There was so much to learn.” With Paul on board the cruise ship were 10 other Kenyans. He met an array of other nationalities within the ship's diverse workforce. There were Italians, Filipinos, Indonesians, Chinese, Croatians, Britons, Ukrainians, Brazilians, Moroccans, South Africans, Malagasies, Mauritians and many more. His work contract, as an Engine Cadet Officer on board the vessel lasted six months. On board the ship his work schedule initially varied depending on how the Staff Engineer planned his roaster.The first two months saw him scheduled on a 0400h to 0800h/16h00 to 20h00 watch.After this, he was changed to a day shift which began at 07h00 to 17h30. His sleep time was varied as well. Initially for a month the ship was on the Japan Cruise – voyaging between the Japanese ports of Yokohama, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Sasebo, Kagoshima and Busan in South Korea as the deep pocketed tourists sought serenity from the vibrant cities while enjoying the spectacular scenery and the contrasting islands. The ship changed course sailing to Chinese ports of Tianjin, Xiamen, Shekou and Shangai touring historic and cultural sites and to explore the China. The itinerary also included Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Naha in Japan and the Filipino port of Manila. All was going well as Paul and his colleagues busied themselves at work and fantasied on the opulence of the world at the same-time.Then there was a big jolt that brought the whole world to its knees. On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, China. 'Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2' (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed as the causative agent of what we now know as 'Coronavirus Disease 2019' (COVID-19). The Corona virus outbreak forced MSC Splendida to abruptly halt its Chinese Cruises. The ship then changed course sailing to Singapore, Langkawi, Penang and Port Klang in Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Laem Chabang and Phuka in Thailand. The ship's voyage continued to Khasab Port along the China-Nepal border and then to Muscat in the Kingdom of Oman before proceeding to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where Paul
LIFE STORY
Paul Nyainda (Right) and a fellow Kenyan, Mohammed Balala, who is also a 3rd Engineer onMSC Cruises are all smiles as they pose for a photo at their work station on board the ship.
thdisembarked on 12 March, 2020 marking the end of the first phase of that glamorous experience at sea. Paul has accolades for a few people who helped him on the way as he realized his dream. Key among them is his mother who had initially opposed the idea but later became his biggest supporter as he climbed the career ladder. Mrs Nancy Karigithu Kenya's Principal Secretary State Department of Shipping and Maritime, the main pillar behind the Kenya-MSC Cruises deal, Engineer Luke Samba,Ag Director Maritime Safety, Kenya Maritime Authority, Ms Betty Makena, Inspector International Transport Federation (ITF); Eng. Munyoki Mwendwa - a Marine Surveyor and Chief Executive Officer Sunfire and Safety Supplies; Eng David Kariuki formerly of JKUAT and now Bandari Maritime Academy; Professor Bernard Ikua, Dr. Kiplimo and Dr. Benson Gathitu all of JKUAT. He also had kind words for Pastor Wilson Nyale of Ambassadors Chapel and a fomer employee of Kenya Ports Authority, whom he says opened his eyes to the world of Marine Engineering and Nautical Science. For the young Kenyans clamoring to go work onboard the cruise ships, Paul has these words: “Be disciplined and have self-drive. Be confident of yourself and your abilities, be adaptable, assertive and ready to pursue the 'impossible' and above all fear God.” He sees Kenya rivaling major maritime human resources providing nations such as the Philippines in years to come, but only with a 100% government support and goodwill. He believes the future of Kenya (economy) lies in the Blue Economy.
