From classroom to county hall: How Moraa turned a childhood inspiration into Impact

Milka Moraa is determined to prove everyone wrong.

Milka Moraa at a campaign rally /BRIAN OTIENO

Since childhood, politics was a part of her, but many dismissed her as another wannabe, a dreamer with a fertile imagination.

The nudge came during her formative years at St Mary’s Nyabururu Primary School in Kisii County.

As soon as the bell rang one day, she and three of her friends picked up their bags and poured out of the classroom.

They had planned to make a detour to a political rally nearby. A politician was scheduled to address members of the Kisii community.

When they got there, she found it strange that a man could make a whole crowd alternate between pin-drop silence and ecstatic roaring with mere words.

There were thousands of people at the grounds, yet when this one man was addressing the huge crowd, it seemed not even a muscle moved.

Suddenly, animated shouting, clapping, hooting, whistling, euphoria and ecstasy punched the air, reverberating across the marketplace and an adjacent bus park.

“Young men hanging precariously on trees shook the branches vigorously. As suddenly as it started, it died down again, to that pin-drop silence,” Moraa says.

“Then the voice rang out as Raila Odinga spoke to the crowd, speaking about their everyday lives, the unending struggles and the challenges that had dogged our community for decades, and that no one had ever imagined could be turned around.”

Apparently, life did not have to be that hard.

As surely as droplets of the predictable Kisii afternoon rain began to descend, so did an unmistakable sense of hope for a better future seem to rest on the minds of each person in the surging crowd, she recalls.

“I felt an unending throb of excitement, like the beat of the drums the supporters played,” she says.

Theirs was a humble home, headed by her father, who was a teacher.

Her mother looked after them at home and worked on the family farm.

Her father’s earnings from his primary school teaching job were meagre, humility generally reflected in many homes around them.

The high poverty levels and the demeaning lives of women were depressing, to say the least, and yet the politicians at the rally had enumerated in clear detail how things could change for the better if people voted in the right leaders, with the right set of priorities to improve the welfare of common people.

“From what I heard that day, it was possible. Life could get better,” she says.

That day changed her perception of life in Kenya. She became more serious in her classwork and wanted to change things herself.

“I remember hurrying home from that one campaign meeting, totally changed. My thoughts were charged by the reality of the simplicity of the lives my family lived, and the facts that the politicians had expounded on.

“That experience birthed a dream that I nurtured well into adulthood, even though, over the years, close friends and family have dismissed it as a lofty ambition. I was determined to be part of the difference the ODM party leader spoke of. But how?” she says.

She made a decision to work hard in everything she did.

She scored 32 points in her CPE exam, which earned her a slot at Loreto Convent High School, Limuru, where she completed her O-levels. She then proceeded to Kereri Girls' High School for her A-levels.

After high school, she pursued a P1 Certificate at Kericho Teachers Training College, which equipped her with the essential skills to become an educator.

She had become a wife and mother in college, but was determined not to end up as all the women she knew in her life.

Her husband understood and supported her ideals.

Over the 11 years of their marriage, their family grew to four children, with her husband’s job as a magistrate taking them to Kwale and Mombasa.

Her passion for learning continued with her pursuit of higher education.

 “The loss of my father, our family’s anchor, during my college years was a blow that reshaped my purpose. Yet, amidst personal trials, I found solace in community service, igniting a fire within to champion change at the grassroots level,” she says.

Her first teaching job was at Kwale Primary School from 1986 to 1990, where she taught English and gained valuable experience in curriculum development and co-curricular activities management.

In 1991, Moraa moved to Aga Khan Primary School in Mombasa, where she made a significant impact as the head of the social studies department and teacher of English.

She also served as the debate club patron, organising inter-school debates and school functions, which fostered academic excellence and leadership among students.

Her role in guiding the school’s non-sporting activities and organising educational trips across the country further demonstrated her ability to manage academic and extra-curricular programmes effectively.

Moraa’s leadership in education also extended to overseeing the development of school programmes, monitoring students’ progress and ensuring the quality of teaching in her department.

Her passion for inspiring young minds and her organisational skills made her a respected figure in the school community.

Tragedy struck again with the sudden loss of her husband to a road accident and shortly thereafter, she also lost her mother to cervical cancer.

“These two incidents brought the plight of many women much closer home to me and I understood better the difficulties and challenges faced by women and other vulnerable people,” she says.

This made her resolve to better the lives of women even stronger.

“I became involved with organising women’s groups and networking to get resources that I would channel directly to help women and the marginalised communities,” she says.

“My initiative caused great impact as my efforts caught the attention of the Mombasa county leadership and that of the ODM party leadership. My dream was just a heartbeat away–I could almost touch it.”

Before she knew it, she was caught up in active politics and with the encouragement of friends and the people she was working with, she was nominated in 2017 as an MCA representing Bamburi ward in Kisauni constituency.

In this role, Moraa has been at the forefront of legislative functions, public advocacy and oversight responsibilities.

As the national chairperson of the Women Caucus for County Assemblies, she has championed inclusivity, women’s rights and the empowerment of marginalised groups.

Her work as an MCA involves extensive public mobilisation, facilitating public participation and representing the interests of her constituents.

Moraa has also been a member of various house committees, working on crucial issues that affect the public, from local governance to social justice.

She remains a role model and an advocate for positive change in Kenya.

Instant analysis

Moraa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Management from the Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) University, completed in 2021. Additionally, she has earned a professional certificate from Aga Khan University and participated in various professional development programmes throughout her career. She devoted more than 30 years to education.