Sometimes when you hear a big hospitality project is coming to your community, you wonder if this could be your opportunity to explore life away from the pastoralist lifestyle that you are used to.
You seek work at the construction site, but given your limited education, you can only be a casual laborer.
First forward to July 2013 and construction is done and dusted, a luxury safari camp is opening its doors to the world and you see strangers being hired, but you.
You realize that all these new people are professionals with qualifications and experiences that merit their positions and beg for any opportunity that could match your qualifications.
Having been a diligent casual laborer during construction, and armed with a secondary school certificate, you are offered an opportunity to be a security guard, a position that requires little training and for which you perfectly qualify.
A Maasai Pastoralist
This is the story of Bob Ole Miinta, a young Maasai man in his 20s growing up in the vast plains of Motorogi, in Maasai Mara, herding his family’s cattle like many of his peers do.
When you are born a Maasai, especially as a boy, you are often destined to be a pastoralist, moving from place to place to provide grass and water to, often large herds of cattle.
As a small boy, you get to be taught how to guard and protect a herd of cattle from wild animals before being taught how to become a man.
Bob’s life trajectory was cast in stone, then Sir Richard Branson knocked on their quiet community with his grand project, Mahali Mzuri Safari Lodge.
Mahali Mzuri means ‘beautiful place’ in Swahili.
It is a Kenyan safari camp located in the Maasai Mara with 12 exemplary tents right in the path of the annual Great Migration of Wild Beasts, providing guests with endless opportunities for game viewing.
Part of the Mara Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Mahali Mzuri charges between US$ 1,000 to US$ 2,000 per night, per person sharing, besides providing a variety of services such as game drives and hot air balloons.
When the construction was completed, Bob didn’t want to go back to herding cattle and was foresighted enough to take up the security guard’s spot at Mahali Mzuri.
The making of a career in hospitality
He worked as a security guard while keenly observing the work of the waiters.
He loved seeing how waiters would interact more with the tourists and believed that he too could one day be one of them.
The fact that waiters were always on the frontline for tips only strengthened his resolve to become one.
After three years of juggling the security guard’s job with volunteering whenever service roles opened up, he successfully applied for a Junior Waiter position.
Hard work, determination, and a positive attitude would set Bob apart in the junior waiter’s job.
He enjoyed great guest reviews and immersed himself in learning from the best waiting staff who worked at Mahali Mzuri.
Tourists, many of whom are dollar billionaires and multi-millionaires would book the camp and request to be served by Bob because Bob Ole Miinta is one of the best at his craft.
He appeared as Employee of the Year in Mahali Mzuri for two years while being a Junior Waiter.
Soon enough Bob was promoted to the position of Senior Waiter.
It is said that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. Well, Bob did not lose focus even in his new role even though now he had junior waiters taking instructions from him.
He served from the heart and became a proud ambassador of the Mahali Mzuri brand, exceeding expectations and applying himself to learn from his superiors on people management, operational management, and such duties that appertains running the front office department.
Front-of-office Supervisor
Indeed, success is predictable cause as of 2024, Bob is the Front-of-house Supervisor, a position he has earned through 10 years of hard work and unwavering focus.
Bob, who just over a decade ago spent his days supervising herds of cattle is now in charge of highly trained professionals in a world-class holiday camp.
With his attitude, on-the-job training, and years of experience, Bob can now excel in any hospitality facility in the world.
Of the place that changed his life, Bob Ole Miinta has this to say;
“I love working with Mahali Mzuri. They have given me a chance to grow my career. When you work here, you get to interact with people from different places in the world. And with the beautiful views of the gorge, you never get bored”
With each passing day, Mahali Mzuri is lucky to have trained such a versatile human resource.
