Sometimes The Door Is Not Closed Yet

A few hours before the September 5, 2026, deadline, something I had been worried about for weeks finally happened: my Amazon KDP account was verified.

A Kenyan friend of mine, whom I have known since 2019, stepped in and helped me complete the verification. She is three years older than me, but more importantly, she has been a genuine friend for several years. I had other friends whom I believed would help, but when I needed them, some disappeared because they thought I was trying to scam them.

This experience reminded me of something I have learned many times in life: you may discover who truly believes in you when there is nothing obvious to gain from helping you.

I don't know yet what I can give this woman in return. Perhaps I cannot repay her in money. But I can remember her kindness. I can honor the friendship. And when my opportunity comes to help someone who needs a hand, I hope I will remember what it felt like to be helped when I was running out of time.

There is more good news.

I also managed to obtain the affidavit required for my SAQA process and submitted it this week. I am now waiting for a certified copy of my degree. I don't know whether another obstacle will appear, but I have learned not to celebrate problems before they arrive.

And then there is China.

The scholarship deadline passed on July 10th, 2026. Under normal circumstances, that might have been the end of the story. But the Chinese Embassy has indicated that if I can obtain the certified copy of my degree, there may still be a possibility of negotiating with Renmin University of China.

That means the door may not be completely closed.

If everything works out, I could still pursue a master's degree in Contemporary Chinese Studies, followed eventually by a PhD in International Relations focusing on China-Africa relations.

And perhaps one day I will be able to do what I have been preparing myself to do for years: write books, conduct research, and lecture at African and Chinese universities about China-Africa relations.

I don't know whether all of this will happen exactly as I imagine it.

But I know this:

A delayed opportunity is not necessarily a lost opportunity.

Sometimes the deadline passes, but the conversation continues.

Sometimes the person you expected to help walks away, while someone you never expected becomes the person who opens the next door.

Sometimes you spend weeks fighting one obstacle, only to discover that another opportunity was waiting behind it.

So I am still moving.

One document at a time.
One obstacle at a time.
One opportunity at a time.

If you are facing your own impossible deadline, rejection, financial difficulty, paperwork problem, or closed door, don't conclude too quickly that your story is over.

Keep doing your part until there is truly nothing left to do.

You may be closer to the next chapter than you think.

And when someone helps you along the way, don't forget them.

Some people don't just help you solve a problem.

They become part of the story of how you survived it.

— John Monyjok Maluth