Jobless 1st Class degree holder to become HR manager, earning 30k a month,given 2-bedroom house in Nairobi

Jobless Chuka University graduate, Ruth Rono, has been offered employment as a human resources manager at Seven Meals Limited, a non-governmental firm headquartered in Utawala that deals in economic empowerment.

Charles Muriuki, the founder of the firm, says on top of that, Ms Rono, 27, will earn a monthly salary of Ksh30, 000 while on a 3-month training-cum-probation period.

She would, thereafter, be retained in the human resources department, or deployed to the finance unit “depending on her strengths”, Mr Muriuki told The Evening Post.

On top of that, Ms Rono’s siblings will be educated and housed in Nairobi, courtesy of Mr Muriuki.

“Three of her siblings are in primary school. We will fly them to Nairobi and they will be enrolled at Lakewood Premier School in Utawala, where my children study. The 2-bedroomed house that we have rented for her for the next 6 months in Utawala, will house her and her siblings,” said Mr Muriuki.

“We have already identified and furnished the house,” added the Good Samaritan.

Ms Rono’s other sibling, who is in high school, will also be educated, courtesy of Mr Muriuki.

The graduate’s other two siblings, who are in college pursuing courses in teaching and social work, will also be employed by Mr Muriuki’s firm after they complete their education.

Mr Muriuki says Ms Rono’s monthly salary will be upped to at least Ksh50, 000 after she completes her probation period.

“I had read news of her plight on media, and I was touched by her story. She is, definitely, a brilliant woman, who shouldn’t be languishing in hopelessness yet her brains can be put to good use. I, therefore, decided to look for her and table the offer. She has accepted, and in the next seven days – beginning January 30 – she and her younger siblings will be flown to Nairobi, where she will begin work on February 10,” Mr Muriuki told The Evening Post.

The Evening Post reached Ms Rono for comment, and she confirmed Mr Muriuki’s statement.

“Yes, he [Muriuki] has reached me on phone, and I am thankful for his support and kindness,” Ms Rono said on phone Wednesday.

Mr Muriuki says his offer to Ms Rono is like a “stepping stone” for her to scale to greater heights in the future – to the point she would be able to fully and independently cater for her family.

Ruth Rono, who graduated from Chuka University four years ago, is the sole bread-winner of her family, given her mother is gravely ill and her father allegedly abandoned them.

Ms Rono, a second born in a family of seven, was forced to retreat to the village so as to take care of her family, including her younger sister who is living with disability.

Until her plight was highlighted, the 27-year-old graduate engaged in menial jobs in Lelbatai Village to raise money for food and other basic needs, including her siblings’ school fees.

On top of money-searching activities, she literally runs the family single-handedly, including fetching water from the stream for domestic use, cleaning her family’s three grass-thatched houses, and milking the only goat the family has.

Ms Rono attended Tabagon Girls’ High School, where she scored an A- (Minus) in her KCSE exams.

Given her humble family background, studying through high school was a struggle.

Her parents only managed to raise Ksh11, 000 for the entire four years she spent at Tabagon Girls’ School.

Her education was significantly funded by well-wishers, who could only help so much. By the time she was completing her secondary education, she was having a school fees arrears of over Ksh90, 000.

A harambee, which was arranged to raise the needed Ksh90, 000, yielded only Ksh50, 000. She added Ksh20, 000 that she had gotten for her exemplary performance to the fee kitty. Tabagon Girls’ High School wrote off the remaining Ksh20, 000 balance.

The National Government sponsored her university education at Chuka, where she scored extremely admirable grades.

“After completing university education, I spent time in Nairobi doing casual jobs. However, my stint at the capital lasted only four months. My mother asked me to return to the village. My father, at the time, had set on fire our family’s three grass-thatched houses following a dispute he had with mum,” said Ms Rono.

With little savings stashed in her bag, Ms Rono returned home to find her mother and two siblings had taken refuge in their neighbour’s house.

She embarked on reconstructing her family’s houses and looking into their basic welfare.

“I remember one day my sister starved to desperation. I, thereafter, vowed not to return to the capital city; instead, resorted to taking care of my family,” she said.

Ms Rono, in an earlier interview with The Evening Post said her wish was she gets formal employment so that she can take care of her family.

“Should I be employed, I am certain to take my ailing mother to a good hospital. I would also be able to educate my siblings, build them a good home and bring change to the society, where I can,” she said.

Ms Rono’s story mirrors the state of youth unemployment in Kenya, which continues to cause headache to the government.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Kenya’s youth unemployment rate has shown little to no positive development, and as at 2016, stood at a staggering 22 per cent.