Christmas season in 2007 was like any other for Jemimah Muchiri and her family. Theirs was about food, celebration, and laughter, and as was tradition, these Christmas festivities took place at their Kapsoya home in Eldoret town. Jemimah was always excited to spend time with her family but that year she was especially excited to get back to school because it would be her final year at Ndalat Gaa Girls’ Secondary School in nearby Nandi Hills town. What had begun as a fun-filled holiday turned into a nightmare when post-election violence started on 27th December, two days after Christmas. Jemimah and her family were forced to take refuge at a nearby Catholic church. They would walk to the church every evening, bringing food and a change of clothes with them, then leave for home in the morning.

Even as the new year began, there seemed to be no end in sight to the chaos. The Nandi region was marked unsafe and Jemimah couldn’t go back to school. When her family received word that some of their neighbours and extended family had lost their lives in the chaos, her parents left nothing to chance. Jemimah was sent to Nakuru to stay with her elder sister until things calmed down. On 28th February, the manic wave tided, but the trauma of what had happened was too intense. Her parents transferred her to Njoro Girls’ High School in Nakuru. During enrollment, Jemimah found out that not only was she going to be the new girl, but she was going to have to repeat form three since registration for KCSE was already complete. While the push back was embarrassing for her, she knew it was a compromise she had to make for her safety.

In 2009, she successfully completed her high school exams and was ready to get into university where she would pursue her long-time dream of working in health. She had time and time again expressed this desire to her family. The following year she was called to Egerton University to study Economics. This was not what Jemimah expected nor what she wanted. Her family had been supportive even at this time when her dreams seemed to slip from her grasp. One evening, her sister got home from work with a newspaper in hand. She pointed out an advertisement by Kenya Medical Training College inviting people to apply. The deadline was a day away and this made Jemimah hesitant. But her sister encouraged her to try, so Jemimah quickly drafted an application letter and sent it in by mail.

The hard part was the wait that followed. She spent months anxiously waiting to hear back. Finally, in October, a letter arrived congratulating her on a successful application.

When she told her family the good news, no one was more excited than her father, but his joy was laced with anxiety. How would he pay the tuition fee? The cost of schooling at KMTC was thrice as much as Egerton, and neither he nor her mother was able to afford it. Jemimah shared this news with another one of her sisters. She’d decided to defer her studies for a year hoping that by the next call, she would be able to afford the fees. As always, her family was relentless in ensuring she achieved her goal. Her sister offered to step in financially and paid more than half of the expected amount. In less than a week, all the requirements had been checked off the admission list and Jemimah joined KMTC – Nakuru Campus for a Diploma in Clinical Medicine and Surgery in 2010.

Jemimah enjoyed her coursework at KMTC which involved learning about the diagnosis of different diseases, prescription of medication and seeing patients through the treatment process. After completing her studies in 2013, Jemimah was posted to Kapenguria County Referral Hospital for her internship. Two years before, the country had experienced the worst drought recorded in sixty years, and the aftermath was still being felt in this small town. Many people came to hospital suffering from various diseases caused by malnutrition, and Jemimah did her best to help them regain their health. After her internship, when Jemimah earned her license and became a registered clinical officer, she stayed in Kapenguria for another year to attend to more patients.

In 2015, ready for change, she moved to Nairobi. In the capital, all the jobs she found were temporary, lasting no more than a few weeks. She returned to the place where she had taken refuge during the violence but again, Nakuru didn’t do it for her. She craved stability, and so when she came across a job vacancy for a clinical officer at Uasin Gishu County, she seized the opportunity and worked on her application keenly trusting that she would get the job. It seemed that she was to return home after all. In July, Jemimah relocated back to her home county after being away for so long. Today you will find her busy at Burnt Forest Sub County Hospital where she works with a team of other health workers for the betterment of the community’s health.

Jemimah’s journey has come full circle and we celebrate her steps to becoming a #KeHealthWorker.