No sponsor for me: Murang'a woman a student by day, guard by night

It doesn't seem like a job for a lady.

But Mary Njeri Kariuki is determined to get an education, studying criminology and security. 

While some other women might go out for a night on the town — or take a sponsor— Njeri is adamant that hard work and integrity are paramount.  

To pay for her studies she works as a night security guard 'manning' the gate at  Murang'a Level 5 hospital. If  she has free time, she washes clothes, scrubs floors and does cleaning.

For 23-year-old Njeri, any time she is not in class is an opportunity to fund her education.

The fourth-year student at Murang'a University of Technology told the Star her parents were unable to provide extra money for her basic needs.

She joined university in 2017.

Her father is a primary school teacher in Nyandarua county while her mother manages their subsistence farm.

Two siblings are in secondary school and two others are in tertiary education, so her parents are struggling.

When Njeri realised she needed to find work to sustain herself in school, she asked her parents for permission.

“My father especially was not happy but there was nothing to be done. I needed money to survive while in school and he had other dependents," she said.

At first, she got a job as a waitress in an eatery in Murang’a town.

After she saved for a while, she quit and started selling beauty products to fellow students. She made as much as Sh800 profit on a good day.

But when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the government shut down learning institutions and imposed curfew and other restrictions.

As many students headed back to their homes, Njeri went back to the drawing board and started looking for another job.

She found one at a security firm.

At night, she guards the gate at Murang'a Level 5 general hospital.

Throughout the week, she washes clothes, one client a day.

“When I have early morning classes, I organise with my clients to wash their clothes in the afternoon,” she said. She also does laundryg for classmates.

Njeri said that with her strict Christian upbringing, she has no desire to do anything frivolous.

“Things such as clubbing have never been my cup of tea. I prefer using my time to better myself,” she said.

Laziness and the desire for money push some young women to find 'sponsors' who support their relaxed lifestyle, at the cost of their integrity, she said.

“Every action has consequences. They may think it (having a sponsor) is easy money but it may take them in a bad direction," Njeri said.

She would rather earn her money through hard but honest work.

“A group of students once found me cleaning the building they live in and asked me why I needed to do that. But my confidence and determination keep me going," Njeri said.

After she graduates, she hopes to join an investigative agency and help her parents educate her younger siblings.

(Edited by V. Graham)