This archive report was first published on 16 September 2019.
Terence Creative, a comedian and Radio Jambo presenter, has spoken out about his difficult past life on the streets and his struggles with smoking addiction.
Terence, whose real name is Lawrence Macharia, lost his mother at the age of nine and was forced to live with his grandmother in a small house with his brothers and uncles. He said, 'I am the last born of three brothers. Our mum died when I was nine years,'
He spent seven years as a street kid, often going hungry and struggling to find food. During this time, he turned to crime in Mathare to make ends meet, becoming a drug peddler and selling scrap metals.
Terence's addiction to smoking was so severe that people would pay him in cigarettes. He estimates that he has smoked over 166,000 cigarettes in 22 years.
However, Terence credits Muli's Children's Home for rescuing him from the streets and giving him the opportunity to go to school. He said, 'Mr Muli took me to his children’s home and that is where I reformed from using hard drugs after I was taken to rehabilitation for two years.'
Terence has since overcome his addiction and is now a successful comedian and presenter. He said, 'One year ago I was a smoke slave. I couldn’t function without smoke, I kept it to my mind that I needed to smoke to be more creative. Later on I realised it was just a myth. I prayed to God and said to myself I will quit. I prayed and told God to free me ’cause I’m his child, and he did.'
