Life Lessons of an Immigrant: Sustainable Community-Owned Enterprises (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781480853706)

John Makilya was born in Kenya on June 12, 1952, of highly talented parents. His courageous and outgoing father rejected the comfort of traditional lifestyles to venture into an unknown school life under very strict disciplinarians. He excelled in his education to become a pioneer in educating his Kamba community. Johns dad was such a charismatic leader that he was selected to lead a local team on a pilgrimage to Rome to meet the pope during the 1950 Catholic Jubilee. He brokered the establishment of a Catholic church in the neighborhood of the very antagonistic Protestant Africa Inland Mission. Johns father ventured into parliamentary politics in 1957, but he lost to a candidate aligned to the Protestant Church. He was appointed to the District Education Board by the president of the Native Council and spearheaded the expansion of education in his community irrespective of religious affiliation (Catholic or Protestant). His outstanding work in education of people of different faiths stands out as a beacon of light and success to be emulated as humanity seeks to resolve the major conflicts of the two major religions (Christianity and Islam) in the world.

After his college education, John Makilya had a successful career in Kenya. The bulk of the his career showcases the idea that designing and installing management, accounting, record-keeping, and financial control system in community-owned enterprises/institutions is the first major ingredient of a profitable and successful project. Secondly, an equitable distribution system of the benefits accruing from the enterprises/institutions to beneficiary communities is necessary to ensure sustainability of community enterprises/institutions. Finally, a well-defined governance system of the community-owned enterprises/institutions is the third ingredient to a successful and sustainable enterprise/institution.

Additionally, the author served as chairman of the board of governors of Misyani Girls School from 1989 to 2005. In this position, he launched a crusade that the world discard the myth that the girl-child is less endowed in mathematics and science than her counterpart boy-child. The girl-child should be empowered through quality education, lest society miss out on talent.

The author relocated with his family to the USA in 2005 in fulfillment of a belief formed during his childhood, namely that John, Joseph will go far away.