Gikomba thrift seller left in tears after Shiksha Arora surprises him with Ksh82K
By Steve Ireri, August 4, 2025Joseph Atwoli, a 23-year-old thrift jeans seller from Gikomba, was left overwhelmed with emotion after popular content creator Shiksha Arora surprised him with Ksh82,500 in a heartwarming gesture in honour of his resilience and hard work.
This unfolded after the content creator toured Gikomba and stumbled upon Atwoli, who was vending jeans alongside his friends on a busy stretch of the bustling market.
In a video shared on her Instagram page on Monday, August 4, 2025, Arora is first seen approaching Atwoli’s friend and presenting him with an enticing offer: to abandon his business for just a day so she could whisk him away, promising to reward him with at least ten times his usual daily earnings.
When the friend turned down the offer, Arora moved on to the next seller, Atwoli, who agreed without hesitation, a decision that would later leave him marvelling at how divinely orchestrated his life’s journey seemed to be.
Atwoli’s life
Thereafter, Shiksha took Joseph to a posh mall where she asked him to order any food he wanted and also took him to buy food items for his house.
During that time, an elated Joseph took time to share a bit about himself, revealing that he has been in the thrift business for many years and supports his family as the eldest sibling and breadwinner.
“I studied up to Form Four but could not continue with further education. Right now, I live in Dandora, where I pay Ksh3,500 for rent. Life has been tough, and through those challenges, I made the decision to stop drinking and smoking so I could focus on bettering myself. I have never even tasted what people call ‘English food’ I only see it on television,” he said.
After quitting as a conductor, Joseph revealed that he worked as a fast food chef but was poorly paid, taking home only Ksh200 daily after transport costs.
His breakthrough, he added, came when he was introduced to the thrift business in Gikomba, where he now earns at least Ksh1,500 per day selling jeans.
“I came to Nairobi in 2018 right after high school. I started with construction work and then became a matatu conductor for a year. It was very demanding — waking up early, sleeping late, and earning about KSh700 a day, sometimes even getting arrested by police. It reached a point I could no longer take it. I then became a fast-food chef, but the boss underpaid us. We earned only KSh300 a day, and after paying for transport, I would go home with just Ksh200. While boxing in Pumwani, I met a man who introduced me to thrift selling in Gikomba. That is how I began this business, and now I make at least Ksh1,500 daily. I am the firstborn in a family of five, so I have to be the breadwinner.”
Arora documented the special day in a video that has drawn an outpouring of heartwarming reactions from netizens, touched by how she randomly picked the man from the crowd.
She also took time to encourage the public to support Joseph’s business by purchasing denim wear from him and highlighted the struggles facing youth in Kenya, especially the scarcity of jobs and opportunities.
“The youth especially are struggling out here with no jobs & opportunities!! Look at his smile when we surprised him and took him to a mall for the very first time, we had lunch together, took him shopping & he got to feel truly special & appreciated,” she said.
The moment the money was sent, Joseph was overcome with emotion.
He began shaking and immediately called his mother to share the incredible news, breaking down in tears as he thanked God for the blessing.
“This was a day I will never forget. I have never had chicken before, and going shopping felt like a dream. The money will help me support my family and continue to work hard.”