When Michael Asia looks back at the past few years of his life, he remembers moments that tested his faith, his strength and his understanding of what it means to be a father. He remembers hospital corridors, sitting beside his sick child, watching families receive heartbreaking news and carrying emotions he did not know how to process.
“I think that was one of the most difficult times of my life,” he says.
In 2020, Michael’s young son was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system. It came at a time when he had already endured several challenges. He had lost his job, his family was struggling financially, and he was trying to find stability through online work.
“When we got admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital, I only had KSh 250 in my pocket,” he recalls.
The months that followed became some of the darkest of his life. As a father, he watched his child go through treatment while witnessing other children fight similar battles.
“Sometimes you cry and realise you are crying alone. You see children dying in hospital. Some die in your own hands.”
Michael became a source of support for other parents in the ward because many families had travelled from different parts of the country and did not know Nairobi well.
“Some people would send me to buy fruits for their children. You leave, buy the fruits and come back only to find that the child you were supposed to give them to is no more. You are left asking yourself questions”
His son was among the few children who survived.
“Out of the 23, 25 kids who were in hospital, only two survived. Mine and another child,” he says.
The experience changed him forever, but it also shaped his purpose.
A love for technology
Before he became a data worker and an advocate for online workers, Michael was simply a young man fascinated by computers.
“I loved technology,” he says.
However, pursuing a career in technology was not easy because his family could not afford further education in the field. Determined to create a future for himself, he took responsibility for his own education and later pursued a diploma.
Like many young Kenyans trying to survive, Michael took different jobs along the way. He worked as a storekeeper, but in 2018, his life took an unexpected turn when he lost his job on the same day his wife was due to deliver their child.
“I had a newborn baby in my space. I couldn’t afford paying rent, taking care of the basics, and life was not easy.”
He tried different ways of earning a living, including selling shoes.
“I could literally sell shoes. I used to sell shoes at Kasarani, but you could be arrested any time. You can imagine having KSh 2,000 stock and someone demanding KSh 5,000 from you.”
It was during this difficult season that he discovered online work.
A former colleague introduced him to Sama, a company that trains and employs people to work in artificial intelligence data projects. After going through training, Michael joined the company in 2020.
For him, the opportunity was a chance to rebuild his life and provide for his family.
But behind the promise of digital jobs was a reality that many people rarely see.
Cost of training artificial intelligence
Today, millions of people interact with technology daily, from social media platforms to artificial intelligence tools. However, behind these systems are workers who help train and improve them.
Michael was one of those workers.
His role involved reviewing and categorising information to help machines understand content. Some projects, however, exposed him to disturbing material that affected his mental and emotional wellbeing.
“People think online jobs are easy. They say it from a point of ignorance because they do not understand what happens behind the scenes.”
He describes working on content moderation projects where he had to review harmful content for hours.
“Imagine watching pornography for eight hours. That alone takes a toll on you.”
The experience became even harder when the content involved children.
“As a parent, seeing some things changes you. You start looking at the world differently.”
He also worked on chat moderation projects where workers sometimes had to assume identities that were not their own.
“You are required to act as someone else online and respond to conversations that may conflict with who you are.”
The emotional burden became difficult to reconcile with his personal beliefs.
“Some of these things, you are doing them, and in the morning you are supposed to go to church. You ask yourself, how are you supposed to reconcile that?”
Over time, he realised that many workers were silently carrying similar struggles.
Finding his voice
While working in the industry, Michael began speaking up about working conditions. He raised concerns about inclusivity, workers’ rights and support systems.
When the company described itself as an equal opportunity employer, he questioned whether workplaces were truly accessible.
“I have never seen anyone on a wheelchair in the organisation. I have never seen ramps in the building. How then are we an equal opportunity employer?”
He also questioned how prepared workplaces were to support expectant mothers and whether workers’ rights were being respected.
However, he says speaking up came with consequences.
“Every time you speak up, you go through a lot of victimisation. Management does not want to talk about the obvious things workers require.”
In 2023, when his mother became ill, Michael made the difficult decision to leave his job.
He had taken unpaid leave to care for her, but when the calls from work continued, he knew he had to choose.
“My phone could not stop ringing. My team leader was following up like I had stolen something.”
But for Michael, family came first.
“My mother’s life was more important than this work.”
Healing, faith and the importance of support
For a long time, Michael carried his experiences without fully understanding their impact.
“I got to a point where I saw everything as normal. I could not feel the pain anymore.”
It was only after beginning therapy at Faraja Cancer Support Centre that he realised he had been carrying trauma.
“Trauma is when you think you have seen it all and do not feel the pain anymore.”
His faith also played a major role in helping him survive difficult seasons.
“There is God in heaven. That is what kept me moving.”
Today, Michael serves as the General Secretary of the Data Labelers Association, an organisation founded by former data workers to advocate for better conditions in the industry.
His message is not only about workers’ rights but also about compassion.
“We are human. We have emotions and we feel pain.”
He believes society must move away from the idea that men should always be strong and silent.
“Men need to cry but crying is therapy.”
Looking back, Michael says every challenge he has faced has shaped the person he is today, a father, a survivor and an advocate determined to ensure that the people behind technology are not forgotten.
“Someone is behind every system you use. Someone is doing the work that makes technology possible. Those workers deserve dignity and support.”
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