The United States has always been considered a land of great opportunities, drawing aspirations from many Kenyans....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
However, for Grace Wairimu, with 25 years of experience as a lecturer at Mount Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), and Kenyatta University, her journey to the United States took an unexpected turn.
While lecturing in Kenya is a highly recognized job, upon arriving in the US, she found herself working as a caregiver for the elderly and sick.
Grace, who left Kenya for the US in 2019, claims that she decided to leave her lecturing job due to financial dissatisfaction.
“As a lecturer, our financial stability largely depended on projects and part-time teaching opportunities, which became scarce. When I came back to Kenya in December 2020, I decided to return to the US,” she recalled.
Hoping to spend a year in the US, luck was on her side as she met a white man in the US with whom she developed a relationship that led to love, hence she didn’t make her way back to Kenya.
While in the US, Grace had to seek a new career path as she could not continue with her lecturing job due to lacking formal qualifications required for the same career in the US.
With no other option, she found herself working as a caregiver, assisting in taking care of the old and sick.
“I realized that regardless of one’s level of education or wealth, there comes a time when you will need to be taken care of and assisted in doing daily tasks,” Grace, whose list of clients included the sick, elderly, recovering, and those in their dying days, said.
Grace later pursued a certified Nursing Assistant Course that provided her with the necessary skills to secure a well-paying job in hospitals and nursing homes.
“But it is not an easy job. It is physically demanding and emotionally draining. You work long hours and end up with back pains. Sometimes it is back-to-back shifts. Sometimes you have to deal with verbally abusive clients,” she said.
Regarding payment, Grace claimed that the money she earns in the US is much higher compared to her days working as a lecturer.
She claims that in a day, she attends to the needs of at least nine people and is paid on an hourly basis.
“The remuneration is generous. You are paid $15 (sh2,284) per hour onwards,” she said.CONTINUE READING>>
