My name is Manu and let me begin with a question that changed the way I see life: What would you do if everything you owned disappeared overnight? Not half of it. Not some of it. Everything. This is not just a question for me. Its real for me. In 2022, my family and I lived at the Department of Works compound at 4 Mile. My father was a janitor at the Department of Works and Highways. He worked hard, quietly and faithfully, to provide for our family. Our house was old. It was not perfect. But it was home. Where we live. Then one day, without warning, everything changed. Our house caught fire. I still don’t know how it started. But I know how it ended. It ended in ashes. We lost everything. Our clothes. Our belongings. Our sense of comfort. Everything was gone All we had left were the clothes that we were wearing at that moment.. That day taught me a painful truth: Life does not wait until you are ready. It moves. It changes. It happens. After the fire, life became harder. We had to move, rent, and adjust to a new reality. At the same time, I was still a university student. I had no steady income, no proper budget, and no clear plan. Yet in that difficult season, one thought stayed with me: “Start with what you have.” Not when life is perfect. Not when everything is ready. Start with what you have. So in 2023, I made a decision that many people did not understand. I decided to build a house. Not after graduation. Not after becoming financially stable. I chose to begin while I was still studying, with no steady income and no proper budget. People told me: “You’re not ready.” “You should wait.” “It’s too risky.” And honestly, they were right. I wasn’t ready. But I started anyway. Step by step. Brick by brick. Day by day. In Gerehu Stage 6, that decision slowly became a home with: • two rooms • a veranda • a kitchen • and a living room It wasn’t easy. Some days, I was exhausted. Some days, I doubted myself. Some days, I did not know how I would continue. But every small step moved me forward. Slowly, what began as nothing became something real. That journey gave me one powerful lesson: You do not need to be ready to start. You need the courage to begin. If I had waited, waited for money, waited for confidence, waited for the perfect time, I would still be waiting today. Many of us are stuck, not because we lack ability, but because we are waiting for permission from perfect conditions. Waiting for: • the right time • the right resources • the perfect conditions But here is the truth: There is no perfect time. We do not become ready by waiting. We become ready by starting. So today, I challenge you: Think of one thing you have been delaying. That dream. That idea. That goal. Ask yourself: “What am I really waiting for?” Because you may never feel ready. But that’s okay. Because the power is not in feeling ready. The power is in beginning anyway. Thank you.