No One Owes You a Job: Taking Responsibility for Your Future

In today’s world—especially in Kenya where youth unemployment remains high—it’s easy to fall into the trap of frustration, blame, and waiting for someone to rescue you. Maybe you’ve sent out dozens of job applications and gotten no responses. Maybe no one in your family has ever had a good job, so you wonder if success is even for people like you.

But here’s the hard truth: no one owes you a job. It’s a tough pill to swallow—but also a powerful truth that can set you free.

Entitlement Will Keep You Stuck

We live in a generation where many youth expect help without taking steps to help themselves. Phrases like:

• “The government should do something.”
• “My uncle promised to connect me.”
• “I’m just waiting for God to open a door.”

…become excuses for inaction.

Yes, the system may be unfair. Yes, connections help. But blaming others doesn’t pay your rent or build your future.

“If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:10

God honors effort. He opens doors when we knock, not when we sit and wait.

The Power of Taking Ownership

When you realize that no one is coming to save you, something shifts inside you. You stop waiting and start working with what you have, from where you are.

✅ Don’t have a degree? Learn a skill online (graphic design, virtual assistance, content creation).
✅ Can’t find formal work? Try small jobs; selling snacks, doing deliveries, washing cars, selling second hand clothes.
✅ No connections? Create your own opportunities and let your excellence become your voice.

Every successful person started somewhere, usually with very little.

The Kenyan Hustle Is Real

In Kenya, you’ll find youth who started with nothing but grit:

• A mitumba seller who now owns a boutique
• A boda boda rider who saved and bought a car
• A freelance writer who earns in dollars with just a phone and bundles
• A young woman who turned baking mandazis into a hotel

They didn’t wait for handouts. They created their own doors.

Your Mindset Is Your Greatest Asset

When you let go of the idea that someone owes you, you become powerful. You take charge of your time, your habits, your learning, your connections. You become the kind of person employers look for; proactive, resilient, hungry.

Faith is not passive. Faith is taking a step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.

Practical Next Steps

• Audit your time: How many hours a day go to entertainment vs. self-improvement?
• Learn something new: Use free tools like YouTube, Alison, Coursera, or Google Digital Skills.
• Start small: Offer a service in your neighborhood; cleaning, tutoring, braiding hair, anything.
• Volunteer: If you have no job, volunteer or look for internships because they count as experience.
• Pray AND work: Trust God, but also show up. Do your part.

You Are the Answer You’re Waiting For

No one owes you a job but you owe it to yourself to try. To rise above excuses. To build something. To push forward when it’s hard. God has given you strength, ideas, and breath. Use them.

At Daraja La Amani, we believe every young person can build a future no matter their past. But it starts with one decision: taking responsibility for your life.

Your future is waiting. Are you ready to show up for it?