Chinese firms help Kenyans rewrite lives

Its appearance is reason enough for tourists to troop in to have a piece of it. The mall, which is conveniently perched right at the heart of Runda, has brought both poor and rich together for a course.

James Gitau, 27, a school dropout from Gachie village in Kiambu County, is one of the young men who will go into history as having played part in giving Kenya such a prestigious mall.

Gitau is the first born in a family of six and having lost his dad when he was 17, he assumed his role as the head of his family.

"My mum was struggling a lot, so I had to drop out of school to help her. At least I had a chance to go up to Form Three. If I didn't do what I did may be my sisters and brothers wouldn't be in school, I thank God just about that time, this project kicked off and I was lucky I got a chance as a worker," he said.

The mall, which will be known as Two Rivers Mall is estimated to cost close to 15.1 billion shillings (about $150 million) and will be built in phases by Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which is the main contractor.

Avic is among other Chinese companies that have given Kenyan youth a chance to rewrite their life stories.

Ngure Njoroge, 32, also from Gachie in Kiambu County says he is still alive, thanks to this project.

"I had engaged in lots of bad things before due to job scarcity but I thank God now I have a clean job," he said.

Ngure and Gitau's stories are proof that Chinese firms operating in Kenya hire more locals compared to foreigners in contrast to popular belief that the opposite is true.

Kenya currently hosts around 400 Chinese firms spread across every sector.