The County of Bungoma was my first County Edition experience, and I was all geared up for the fun and challenges that come with outside broadcasting.

But I was amazed and inspired by my colleagues. They literally stepped off the bus, grabbed a soda and a mandazi and headed out on assignment, after a ten-hour bus journey that started at 4am. This was when I realized that this job requires true passion and dedication.

Anchoring the 9pm bulletin from a foreign location wasn’t new to me – it was my field assignment that I was looking forward to the next day.

At 7am, Lolani Kalu, myself, Robert Gichira and Mbau headed for a rock formation, which had an interesting history behind it that we wanted to learn more about.

Simon Nyongesa was the man we randomly met at the rock, who in the end proved to be a highly useful contact. He’s always lived nearby and guides visitors, engaging them in the interesting myths behind rock, and of course he told us the story behind how residents believe the infamous footprint got imprinted in the rock.

Simon then took us to another incredible rock feature, which holds stagnant water that apparently never dries up. We were very lucky to meet this man Simon, who ended up featuring in both mine and Lolani’s stories that aired on NTV. For us, he made up part of our stories, but for him, being on TV was some-what life-changing.

Ever since our trip to Bungoma, Simon has kept in touch with me, often calling to thank me again and again for featuring him on television – but I always feel it’s me who should thank him for all the information he gave us. Each time he says more and more people have contacted him since that day to say they saw him on TV, and that he’s gained recognition and respect.

The joy in his voice every time I answer his call makes me smile. The last time he called me, he update me on the weather situation and requested a bag of maize meal so that he could start planting.

My interaction with Simon, whom I now consider a friend and the hard team-work, made my experience in Bungoma a humbling one.