Born to Rise: Wambui’s Journey of Grit and Glory
In Kikuyu tradition, a man’s wealth was measured by the number of goats and sheep he owned. The wealthier a man was, the more wives he could marry. Njoroge was no exception. He had many goats and, as a result, married two wives: Wanjugu, his first wife, and Wamuyu, the second. In addition to livestock, a family with many daughters was also considered prosperous, as daughters could be married off to wealthy men who would pay a hefty dowry in goats. Though Wamuyu was young, her parents forced her to marry Njoroge because of his wealth.
From his two marriages, Njoroge had thirteen children. Wanjugu bore him two: Muhia and Wamucii. Wamuyu, on the other hand, had eleven: Wanjiku, Waitherero, Watoro, Wairimu, Mumbi, Wacheke, Waheto, Nderitu, Wanjiru, Wambui, and Wanjira.
Despite his wealth, Njoroge struggled to find a permanent home for his large family. He moved them from Murang'a to Kitale, then to Mt. Elgon, and finally to Machine village, where the government was selling land cheaply—six acres for only 1,000 shillings. By then, however, his wealth had dwindled. He had sold all his goats and spent all his money on endless relocations. Now poor, he could only afford to build grass-thatched houses. Wambui and Wanjira were born into this poverty, and to them, their father’s tales of past wealth seemed like mere legends.
In those days, education was not a priority, and Njoroge could only afford to send five of his children—Waheto, Nderitu, Wanjiru, Wambui, and Wanjira—to school. Among them, only Nderitu and Wambui advanced past primary school. Wambui was the only one who made it to university, but her journey was far from easy. By the time she was old enough for school, Njoroge, who worked as a carpenter, had aged and could no longer provide for the family. Farming became their main source of livelihood, but the poor soil and scarce resources made survival difficult.
Back then, school readiness was tested by asking children to raise their right hand over their head and touch their left ear. If their hand failed to reach, they were deemed too young to enroll. At seven years old, Wambui passed this test and eagerly joined Class One. She performed well in her first two terms, but in the third term, her grades declined. Disappointed, Njoroge made her repeat the class.
“Mtoto wa nyoka ni nyoka,” he would say, reminding Wambui that she had inherited his hardworking nature. Determined to prove herself, she improved her performance and never looked back.
The family worshipped at GAK Church, where one tradition particularly irritated Wambui—women and girls were required to wear headscarves at all times. Children could only remove them inside the school compound but had to put them back on as soon as they stepped outside. Wambui found ways to defy this rule. She would leave home wearing the headscarf but remove it the moment she was out of her mother’s sight. If she spotted the pastor on her way to school, she would hide until he passed. Later, she discovered that many of her schoolmates from the church did the same. Some pupils mocked them by snatching their headscarves and running away with them, much to their humiliation.
Wambui excelled in school, often taking first or second place in her class. However, in Class Five, her grades suddenly dropped—she ranked twelfth. Her elder sister, Wanjiru, who had repeated Class Five, now ranked ninth and wasted no time informing their mother.
“Wambui siku hizi kazi yako ni kucheza shule, sio kusoma,” Wanjiru reported smugly. (Wambui nowadays only plays at school instead of studying.)
Their mother was furious. “Wambui, nimeambiwa unacheza tu shule na husomi! Ni kweli?” (Wambui, I have been told all you do is play in school and you don’t study! Is it true?)
Wambui couldn't respond. She burst into tears.
“Nenda ulie huko nje ukichoka urudi!” her mother ordered. (Go cry outside and come back when you’re done!)
Behind the house, Wambui cried and cried, but in that moment, she made a vow—she would never joke around about her studies again. From that day, her grades improved.
Njoroge, noticing Wambui’s determination, believed she had the potential to uplift the family. She aced her KCPE exams and secured admission to Makuti Girls, one of the best provincial schools in Western Province. Wamuyu was overjoyed and determined to send her daughter there, but Njoroge hesitated. The school fees were overwhelming. He considered enrolling Wambui in a cheaper school nearby so she could commute from home, but Wamuyu was firm.
“Mkono mtupu haulambwi,” she said. (An empty hand is not licked.) She sold all her harvested maize to pay for Wambui’s school shopping and part of the fees. Though the money was not enough, she was confident they would manage.
On admission day, Wambui wore an oversized dress donated by her sister and second-hand shoes her mother bought at Matunda Market. Her brother, Nderitu, helped carry her metal box on a bicycle to Moi’s Bridge, where she and her father boarded a matatu to Eldoret and then to Makuti.
At school, a kind teacher noticed Njoroge’s exhaustion and sent a student to fetch him some water. She also allowed Wambui to skip the long admission queue. Though she didn’t have all the required items, the teachers, moved by Njoroge’s struggles, admitted Wambui without much fuss.
Life at Makuti was tough. Some students mocked her for wearing oversized clothes. “Cheki huyu mshamba!” (Look at this village girl!) they jeered. She kept quiet, unsure of what else she would endure. Her dormmate, Ann, a Form Four student, was kind to her and helped her adjust to boarding school life. After two weeks, when the Form Ones were given school uniforms, Wambui felt relieved—she finally looked like other students. Still, she struggled with the rigorous school schedule and constant worries about school fees. By the end of the term, she had grown alarmingly thin. However, with time, she adapted.
In Form Two, during a parents' day, the principal asked well-off parents to sponsor needy students. A medical doctor volunteered to sponsor Wambui, and from that moment, she never had to worry about school fees again.
She excelled in her KCSE exams, scoring an A with 84 points. Her stellar performance earned her a spot in the Equity Wings to Fly program, paving the way for her to study medicine at the University of Nairobi. Indeed, as the Swahili say, "Mchumia juani hulia kivulini"—one who toils in the sun enjoys in the shade. Against all odds, Wambui had finally made it.
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