The Crest
Last Friday after my demo meeting — am a developer — I had scheduled to have a Cappuccino with a couple of friends at a Cafe in heart of Kampala before curfew. Yes, I mentioned curfew, in my country we try to push the limit so here I was at 6:00 pm preparing to go meet friends across town at 7:00 pm and make it back home before the curfew time of 9:00 pm.
I reside at one end of town and the Cafe is the other side of town in Lugogo a couple of minutes’ drive from the building that formerly housed the Andela offices.
The Andela Uganda Offices were called The Crest. I do not know why that particular name was chosen but a quick-thinking may indicate maybe they wanted to pride in the Ugandan National symbol which is a Crested Crane. Maybe the “Crest” was picked from the“Crested.”
Allow me henceforth to refer to the building as “The Crest.” To an ordinary person, it was just a building. At one point in my life, it was not just a building, it was way more than that. I can confirm this was true to so many people who shared the same dream as I do.
At that point in my life, The Crest was my passport stamped with a visa and a one-way ticket to my dream. It was GOD’s specially crafted pathway to make my dream a reality. I had long dreamed to become a World-Class Developer.
Andela was providing just that, and being in that building meant one way or the other I was halfway on that journey. Everything I saw or heard about what transpired in that building was what I wanted for my life.
Most developers I know of strive to become World-Class Developers and want to work for big Silicon Valley companies and Andela was providing that opportunity. So you can clearly understand why we reveled the very idea of being at The Crest. Being in that building meant you were strapped into your seat for the life-transforming journey.
Before I finally made it in as a developer, I attended every public event that was held there. I recount multiple times I envisioned myself in that building. Even after my first Bootcamp which I failed, the failure triggered a greater passion to make it in.
I remember days at home where I would get lost in the moment, envisioning myself taking the elevator to the fourth floor. Swiping my card to get in, I would envision the cool swift of air as I swing the door open, the first glance at the counter. The snacks and fruits corner.
The mini-walk to the terrace, the blue sky overhead, the humid Kampala midday air. The sweet savor of the assorted delicacies at lunch. The heavy meals, and the cocktail juice I couldn’t get enough of.
Honestly, by the time I made it into the fellowship, in my mind, I had accustomed myself to every single facet that made this building. I knew which floor had an even number of steps on the stairs and which had the odd. I swear to you, I could have traversed this entire building with my eyes closed because I had every detailed ingrained in my mind.
So this Friday evening, I decided to pass by this building, I did not stop but I took a long look at it and I couldn't exactly make out, how I felt. I bet you, most of the ex-Andelans have mixed feelings too.
One thing that will always remain a fact in my life though, is my stay at The Crest may have been shortlived but it never left me the same. I learned so much, made some lifelong friends but one thing that stood out was the extraordinary minds I met there. Here I do not just mean those that made it into the fellowship, they were so many excellent, skilled individuals that never made it in.
When I got laid off, it took me a while to come to terms with it but interestingly I know it was the best decision for me. That termination was a blessing in disguise, right now I look back and I know there is no way I could have been convinced that it was a good decision. Personally I am forever grateful.
I do not know whether I attained my dream of being World Class, but I keep working at it and learning every day; the only difference is I am cognizant of the fact that my dream is bigger than just one building. Enough about The Crest, about how I beat the curfew to make it home on time is a story worthy of a James Bond script but that’s for another day.
