Tag: Co-op Visa Card News

I was generally a shy kid. Unless I was around close friends and family, speaking was something I had to think about – never mind public speaking.

I dislike being in the spotlight, but I have met introverts who’ve managed to excel in related engagements – teaching, preaching and singing.

It happened during my first week in high school.

Now, oblivious to me – my admission had elicited a lot of interest. I was the poster boy for the classic ‘you-can-achieve-anything’ narrative.

I had attended a rural day-primary school, running a mile to and fro on a daily basis, and, yet – managed to secure entry marks to a prestigious national school.

My grades had also qualified me for a four-year scholarship, thanks to the Co-op Bank Foundation.

The school held an assembly once a week – on Fridays’.

First, I was shocked by the sheer number of students. Rows and rows of neatly starched collars, blue blazers and khaki trousers.

The captains stood in a separate line on the right-hand side, with their emblazoned notebooks. I felt as insignificant as a grain of sand on a long beach.

The principal’s main topic was, of course, us – the new students. I did not pay much attention to the speech. I was busy scanning the students, trying to see if there’s anyone familiar.

At some point, the boy next to me elbowed me in the ribs: “Hey, the principal is calling your name…” I was stunned.

I slowly made my way to the front. I could feel the inquisitive bore of a thousand eyes on the back of my neck. I approached the podium. It was all-glass, much like we had at our local Catholic church.

My exact thought at the moment was that everyone would see if I peed on myself!

The Principal hands over the (mic), and says: “Introduce yourself, master…”

I was lost. First, I didn’t have a clue on the line of conversation before I was summoned. What do I talk about? Will they not laugh at my village accent?

Ha, I remembered that am the Firstborn Son of Nkanata, and Great-great-great grandson of Field Marshal Mwariama – the famed Mau Mau fighter.

“My name is…… “

I couldn’t go on. I was visibly shaking, heart racing a thousand beats to a minute.

Suddenly, I was aware of the silence – pin drop silence. I wasn’t a famous guy in class or anything. In the two days we’d been there, I had hardly made any friends or spoken much to anyone. I had largely kept to myself.

“Just tell them where you come from, why you are here and what you want to be in future…” The Principal says.

I do not remember much, other than racing through the particulars of my locality, an aspiration to be a top performer in class and that other surreal dream to be a software engineer.

The former remained constant throughout my high school stint, but the latter would mutate several times. Goals and ambitions are pretty ambiguous for a teenager, I guess!

Three decades later, I’m escorting my firstborn daughter to school. She’s joining Secondary School. The motions at admission are pretty much the same, except for the financial bit that has turned cashless. No one is lining up at the bursar’s office!

All I have with me are receipts from a Co-op Kwa Jirani agent. I conveniently paid my daughter’s school fees at the local grocery shop!

After handing over the receipt to the school’s accountant, I was preparing to give my daughter some pocket money, a luxury I didn’t have.

Just as I was about to hand her the cash, the accountant said,” You know this generation doesn’t handle money like we used to,”

All parents in the room were confused wondering who he was talking to.”

“Our school uses Co-op prepaid cards. This is a Visa pre-paid card which you can load upfront and give your child to shop at the school canteen which has a machine for swiping.

“You can load the card from anywhere, anytime via Mpesa pay bill 400222 or the nearest Co-op Bank branch.

Students can also withdraw cash while going home, from our school Co-op Agent, “they make the use and tracking of pocket money much better and safer than physical cash.

Incase card is depleted you can to up your child’s pocket money from anywhere you are through the MCo-opcash app or deposit with you nearest Coop Kwa Jirani agent.”

On school closing days, school trips or on occasions that a student needs cash he or she can widthraw cash at any Co-op ATM’s across the republic.

It’s a real game changer. Oh, one does not need to be a Co-op Bank customer to get the card.

All the parents present, me included, were all sold on the idea almost immediately.

My 14-year-old niece is the firstborn in my brother’s family. She feels immense pressure to excel in academics, due to an overly-achieving family.

Both parents are pursuing doctorates in their respective fields.

Her father is a physician, and her mother has built a solid reputation in law and governance. Both teach part-time at public universities.

She’s called Naomi, and has just received her 2022 KCPE results. She missed the elusive ‘400 mark’ by 45 points.

Man, she is devastated. I’d understand why.

My brother is stern, strict and pushes for excellence in everyone around him. Lots of times at the cost of personal freedom and friendship.

Burdened with a busy schedule, Naomi’s parents would miss most of her school’s parent-engagement events.

I’d often be the parent at Naomi’s top-rated private boarding school. It did not come cheap. Often, her father would remind her of ‘How expensive that school is’ and, ‘Set a good example to your brother’.

The younger brother is in 6th grade – and cared little if she scored A’s or E’s.

Poor Naomi performed well throughout, but this kind of pressure robbed her of her dream marks at her final exams.

At this point, she was not overly anxious of the kind of high school she’d attend, but struggling under an overwhelming feeling of failing her successful parents.

Worse, her cousin in a derelict, poorly-staffed and equipped day school had beaten her by 20 marks – at a fraction of the cost!

Naomi had a shocker question for me: How do I apologise to my parents for failing my exams? 

I stuttered a little, and thought of three possible answers:

• You Come First

Please congratulate yourself. You are mature enough to know that a personal failure may affect other people. Like, not attaining a grade may hurt your parents. That’s something.

Apologise to yourself, too – for messing up your peace of mind.

It’s all about you, not other people. This is a personal milestone, the first – and the success of shortcomings do not overly affect other people. Just their expectations of you.

At this point, you come first. Are you happy with the results? Sad or disappointed? The lessons lie in what you feel about the results – not the actual results. If you gave your best, walk tall and be proud.

If not, there will be new opportunities to make amends.

• Failing is Part of The Journey

It’s ok to fail. We don’t always succeed. Sometime we fail also.

But we should never lose our hope. Failing a test doesn’t mean that you are an idiot and know nothing or haven’t studied anything.

You studied but you still failed in the test only means that your mind couldn’t grab the things easily like the other people. Just a little more hard work and focus than before turns it around.

Failing at something gives you some kind of boost to do much better than before. But some people don’t think like that. We should have positive thoughts regarding things. Then only, we can live this life happily.

You will be fine.

• Parent’s Love Can Be Stern-Faced 

Your parents are the only people in the entire world who actually want you to be better than they are. They love you unconditionally, no matter how strict they are.

They are concerned about you, and perhaps upset and could mistake a low grade with irresponsibility. Go talk to them.

Face this situation with pride, it’s your life, you are responsible for it. Even if you struggle because of the results or because of your mistakes, it’s still you who will suffer, so ultimately the words from your parents should not affect you.

Say: “I failed, not because I didn’t do enough, or because, what I did wasn’t enough. It’s my life’s failure on one front, I will come back stronger and better.”

Show them some commitment to improve, and be better.

Now, fellow parents – listen up.

These situations are not solved with one-off pep talks. Students need constant assurance by deeds and overall commitment to their wellbeing.

One sure way, is timely payment of school fees and upkeep for them besides demanding job schedules.

Co-op Bank avails a convenient way of paying school fees directly into the school’s account through MCo-op Cash, M-Pesa PayBill 400222, or a Co-op Kwa Jirani Agent near you.

This festive week, lots of families will be making long drives to mark Christmas with their families or friends. Due to the prevalent Covid-19 conditions for most of the year, lots of these trips will be made upcountry.

There’s the comfort, flexibility and convenience a car affords one in this situation – and for some, they’ll be looking to hire a car for a few days.

There are a few individual checks one needs to make on the car before a long drive. No one fancies getting a break down at odd hours, middle of a forest.

What are (some) of the checks?

• Have the tires checked for alignment and pressure.
• Check the headlights and turn indicators – replace bulbs, or blinking frequencies.
• The condition of brakes – replace brake pads, and have them tuned.
• The AC – you don’t need your family stewing in the car on a long drive. They’ll be cranky.
• Check & top up the coolant.
• How’s the battery condition? Replace if it’s aged.
• Check and replace engine oil and oil filters – if necessary.
• Replace old, worn out wipers – if need be.
• Make sure the spare tire is in good condition, and the tool kit to change tire if need arises.

Additional important things:

• Obtain a small fire extinguisher for the car.
• Tag along essential vehicle documents like registration, driving license and insurance.
• Carry extra essential fuses of the car – if you have the skills to diagnose an electrical mishap.
• An extra can of engine oil, brake and coolant fluids.
• Have an emergency car kit – jumper cables, tire sealer, and tire Inflator with pressure check monitor
• Basics like flash lights, a medical first aid kit and the triangle hazard signs

One other essential aspect is the fuel you purchase along the way. Avoid making purchases from unorthodox, road side dealers.

Most of this fuel is adulterated, and will eventually cause a vehicle break down – or greatly reduce performance.

Purchase fuel at established fuel stations only.

Another plus is that purchasing at established fuel stations allows one to make cashless payments – which greatly helps in general personal safety and in the fight against the pandemic.

For Co-op Bank clients, using the Co-op Bank Visa Cards comes at no extra charges.

Besides fuel purchases, Co-op Bank Visa Cards can also be safely swiped at restaurants, pharmacies, mall shopping, groceries, et al.

It’s convenient, safe and any transactions get instant notifications on mobile phone. It’s easier to track spending this festive season.

Get some helpful info on Co-op Bank Visa Cards by clicking here, or visit the nearest bank branch.

Have a Merry Christmas. Enjoy responsibly.