Growing up in Kibra, where poverty, drugs and crime have long threatened the dreams of many young people, Dr. Gamaliel Hassan Alukwe Anyanzo could easily have taken a different path.
Instead, the lessons he learnt at home, his determination to stay focused and the opportunities that came through education changed the course of his life.
Today, the father of three leads Stima DT Sacco Africa's second-largest sacco by asset base, proving that where someone is born does not have to determine where they end up.
The Stima Sacco Chief Executive Officer, in an interview with Radio Generation, says that before any professional title, he is first a husband and a father to three children. Looking back at his life, he says those roles remain his greatest achievement.
"I should have started by introducing myself first as a father. I'm a dad. I have three lovely children, a girl and two boys, married very happily to one lovely wife," he said.
Growing Up in Kibra
Hassan was born and raised in Kibra nearly five decades ago. His childhood was spent around Olympic Estate and Soweto Ndogo, an area he says shaped both his character and outlook on life.
Although Kibra presented many challenges, he says the greatest battle for young people was resisting the temptations that surrounded them every day.
"Life can be very cosy when you're in Kibra. With a little bit of money, you can eat, you can sleep, but you can also have access to things like drugs and alcohol. As time went by, there were also hard drugs. As a child, we were busy trying to survive and to dissociate ourselves from the vices around us."
Rather than dreaming of becoming a chief executive, Hassan says his focus at the time was simply finding ways to improve his life one step at a time.
"I would not say I already knew where I wanted to end up. I was looking for incremental improvement every day and trying to make positive choices."
He believes having the right people around him made all the difference.
"You don't come out of Kibra if you do not have a support structure. You need people who give you opportunities, but you also need a good head on your shoulders to know what is right and what is wrong," Hassan said.
Education Opens New Doors
Education became the turning point that opened doors many children around him never got the chance to walk through.
Hassan's primary school journey was not straightforward. He attended Arya Primary School, Olympic Primary School, Muluanda Primary School before returning to Olympic Primary, where he completed his primary education.
He recalls the education system of the time being strict, with corporal punishment being common.
"Going to school was almost impossible without being caned. That was the way we were taught back then."
Despite those challenges, Hassan remained focused on his studies and earned good grades, something he now describes as the beginning of everything that followed.
"I keep telling children going through hardship that education can change your life. Getting good grades allowed me to join a good high school."
His strong performance earned him a place at Nairobi School, one of Kenya's leading public schools.
Transitioning from Kibra to Nairobi School came with its own adjustments. Hassan had to move from an environment where students were constantly pushed to study to one where personal discipline mattered more.
Even then, he stayed focused, completed his secondary education and secured admission to the University of Nairobi, where he studied Economics with Political Science as a minor.
Looking back, Hassan says every stage of his education built the foundation for the career that would later follow.
"From a public primary school to a public high school and then a public university, those are the things that lined me up to where I am today."
Parents' Influence
But Hassan insists his journey was never as smooth as it may appear.
He credits his late father, a former Harambee Stars footballer, with teaching him one of life's most valuable lessons.
As a young boy, Hassan loved football and hoped to follow in his father's footsteps. His father, however, had different plans.
"My dad wanted me to be better than him. He kept insisting that I needed to go to school and get an education."
To drive the message home, his father introduced him to former footballer and doctor JJ Masiga, hoping Hassan would understand that education could go hand in hand with talent.
"He was trying to show me that you can play football, but you also need a profession."
Although his father died when Hassan was about 18 years old, that lesson stayed with him.
After his father's death, his mother became his greatest source of strength.
She encouraged him to believe that being born in Kibra did not mean he had to remain there for the rest of his life.
"My mother kept telling me that being born in Kibra did not mean Kibra had to remain my permanent address."
As a single parent raising a teenager, she remained by his side, constantly encouraging him to stay focused on his education and future.
Today, as he heads one of Africa's largest saccos, Hassan says his story is proof that determination, family support and education can change lives. While many people now know him as the chief executive of a Sh75 billion institution serving nearly 241,000 members, he hopes young people, especially those growing up in informal settlements, will remember something much simpler.
For Hassan, success did not begin in a boardroom. It started with choosing books over distractions, listening to the guidance of his parents and believing that a child from Kibra could one day lead one of Africa's biggest financial institutions.