• Dr Bule revealed that she was once a timid girl who was afraid of taking risks, but all that changed when she learnt to believe in herself.
• “Ever since, I have never looked back. Never stopped pursuing my dreams. Why not you? All you need to do is to smash that timid shell. Today. Now,” she said.
Image: DR MWANABULE AHMED/X
Dr Mwanabule Ahmed, Mombasa County’s first female surgeon, has shared her awe-inspiring story of how she rose to the feat despite her poor family background.
In a thread on X, the surgeon who referred to herself simply as Dr Bule challenged Kenyans to never shy away from aspiring for greatness.
She revealed that she was once a timid girl, one scared of taking risks, but all that changed when she learnt to believe in herself.
“Ever since, I have never looked back. Never stopped pursuing my dreams. Why not you? All you need to do is to smash that timid shell. Today. Now,” she said.
“I'm here to prove that greatness is an open invitation. My journey isn’t just about breaking barriers, it's about creating waves.”
Dr Bule said it all began at Faza Primary School in Lamu County where her supportive parents enrolled her despite them having never set foot in class.
She said while there, a hardworking teacher named Mr Kulumba offered her a great deal of inspiration throughout her primary school life.
“After my KCPE, I received a calling letter from Mpeketoni Secondary School, but I was unwilling to join because I thought Mpeketoni was too far from home. Timid girl. I went to Lamu Girls Secondary School instead,” she said.
Dr Bule said her timid nature could not, however, let her complete her studies at the school as she opted out after just a year because she couldn’t cope with boarding life.
“So timid, I know. I later completed my high school education at Faza Secondary School in 1998,” she said.
At the end of the second millennium in 2000, Dr Bule said she joined the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Nakuru where she cleared her clinician studies in 2003.
“That was the beginning of this timid girl coming out of her shell. I believed I could be more than a clinician. So I joined Kampala International University in 2004 to study Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery MBChB and graduated after 6 years,” she said.
The surgeon said she then joined the then Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH) as an intern where she rose through the ranks to a Medical Officer in 2012.
“The timid girl was now out of her comfort zone and raring to go. In 2014, I took a study leave, went to Moi University and came back in 2021 as a General Surgeon. The first-ever female surgeon in Mombasa County. Literally, Female Surgeon 001!” she said.
Technically, her rise from a clinician to a general surgeon took her two decades starting from 2000 when she first trained as a clinician.
All these are thanks to her resilience, supportive parents and a teacher who seemingly saw greatness in her formative years at school and inspired her.
Dr Bule said she currently works at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) and Likoni Sub County Hospital (Manyatta).