Daring Abroad: Meet a Kenyan Man Who Runs His Own Funeral Parlor in Bedford, Texas

A Kenyan entrepreneur has narrated how he ended up establishing a successful funeral parlor in Texas after moving to the US with a dream to become a pilot.

John Richard Ng'ang'a, who founded Bedford Memorial Funeral Home in Bedford, Texas about five years ago, spoke about his journey in the latest episode of Daring Abroad aired on KTN News on Saturday. 

"I actually came to do flying, I didn't follow it up. It wasn't my passion," Ng'ang'a told journalist Alex Chamwada.

"I ended up going to school and took some medical classes. Someone came to school on a career day talk to us about various career lines, he talked about forensic science and I ended up venturing into mortuary sciences. That's how I ended up in the funeral business," he revealed.

Ng'ang'a, who founded the business in 2015 after serving in the corporate world for nearly two decades, says the funeral home handles more than 300 cases annually. He says he started the business using his owns savings as he does not believe in the idea of taking a loan.

"Like Mark Cuban says, it’s only a moron that starts a business with a loan, if it doesn't work you still have to pay the loan. So I opened my business without a loan, but with only the money I had saved," Ng'ang'a explained.

Despite establishing a successful business and living in the US for many years, Ng’ang’a says he has kept Kenya close to his heart and is presently undertaking different projects back home.

"I have different projects at home that I'm involved in. I just started a magazine in Kenya that is going to explore different areas and kinds of tourism and we are getting in touch with counties to support us, even if Kenya is hard to penetrate," Ng'ang'a said.

He added: "Living in the US, you will understand. You can walk in and have services handled in 10 minutes and walk away, in Kenya, you can chase somebody for days. It becomes discouraging." 

He mentions compassion and a good understanding of people as the main reasons for his success. "I've had people come here and start going off on me. It is an inborn thing. You have to be compassionate even to deal with people and you have to understand that. Otherwise, you will be upset every day," Ng'ang'a noted.

Bedford Funeral Home also has an inbuilt chapel with a capacity of up to 70 people for bereaved families to conduct services and prayers.

What is his message and advise to Kenyans in the diaspora, especially Green Card holders?

"I want to tell Kenyans who are getting green-cards not to sell everything back home. Green cards don't give you the right to move away from home. You can have a green card, come work for six months, go home for six months. You can live in both worlds and you will be a happy person. But you have to be reliable, dedicated, committed."