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From a hustler who toiled to put food on the table for her family, Miriam Wanja has risen to become a businesswoman scaling new heights in Eldoret, thanks to the affordable housing projects in the city.
When President William Ruto launched work on the affordable housing units at Kidiwa, Wanja saw a lifetime opportunity to transform her life.
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Two two years down the line she is full of praise for the President.
While critics have opposed the affordable housing programme, Wanja says it has changed the lives of many people within the low-income informal settlement at Kamkunji, which is a stone’s throw away from the Kidiwa units.
She used to do manual jobs within the estate, earning little money that left her trapped in cycles of poverty, unable to feed, educate or clothe her three children and her mother.
When work started at the Kidiwa project, she began by selling food to construction workers. Shortly afterwards, she decided to join the workers.
The construction workers are popularly known as “watu wa mjengo” in Kiswahili and, despite the manual jobs being dominated by men, Wanja was determined to change her life and took up the challenge.
She was among the workers who manually dug the foundation of the Kidiwa affordable housing projects, which enabled her to earn what she describes as a better daily income than before.
“As a woman and a mother, it was so challenging because I always got home very tired, yet I still had to take care of my family,” she says.
She used part of her daily income for her family’s upkeep and also began saving for the future.
Wanja worked hard and, despite the heavy manual work, never failed to report for duty, earning admiration from colleagues and managers at the construction site.
As the project neared completion, manual work at the site reduced and she was forced to stop working, like many other casual labourers.
The site had attracted more than 1,000 young people from the Kidiwa slums as labourers, and as work reduced, many of them lost their jobs.
Having noticed Wanja’s dedication, the managers at the site recalled her and deployed her as a supervisor to oversee watering of the construction, also known as curing.
It is here that she earned Sh1,000 daily for some months.
“I was so encouraged because I got money to feed my family and also save even more,” she says.
The Kidiwa affordable housing units are now almost complete, with only finishing work remaining. President Ruto is scheduled to open the houses in the next few weeks.
Back in Kamkunji estate, Wanja had made significant savings and decided to venture into business to enable her family to continue earning a daily income.
She used part of the savings to buy a milk ATM machine, which she installed within the estate.
“From this milk business, I am now able to take care of my family even without going out for work. I get income to put food on the table, pay school needs for my children and also take care of my mother,” she says.
Wanja says the savings have also enabled her to engage in other income-generating activities that improve her daily income for the benefit of her family.
The Kwetu Milk ATM in Kamkunji estate has become a busy source of fresh milk for residents, and Wanja works with her mother Alice in the business, which has brought joy to the family.
“My mother was also idling at home, but most of the time she is now the one managing the business as I am always away doing other work,” says Wanja.
Wanja is a popular youth leader in Kamkunji estate and says most of the young people who worked at the Kidiwa site have improved their lives and are now engaged in various income-generating activities.
“We used to have serious insecurity in Kamkunji estate, but many youth got jobs at the Kidiwa site and things have since improved because many of our youth were engaged in work,” she says.
She says Soy MP David Kiplagat, popularly known as DK, ensured that youth from the Kamkunji area got jobs at the Kidiwa affordable housing site.
Wanja is now looking forward to increasing her savings to enable her family to buy a unit in the affordable housing project in Eldoret.
“My desire is to own one of the housing units and, God willing, I know it is possible because I continue to save from my business,” Wanja said.
She is full of praise for President Ruto for initiating the affordable housing projects, which she says have transformed the lives of many people.
Wanja says the multiplier effects and impact of the projects on lives in the area are massive and hopes President Ruto will not give up on developing more units despite opposition from critics.
“It is me and those who have worked there who know how the affordable housing projects have transformed our lives. The naysayers are those who do not know how we have benefited,” says Wanja.
As a young woman, Wanja is encouraging her colleagues and friends that life is about self-motivation, determination and having a vision.
“Young people should not be selective when it comes to work. Be ready to seize any opportunity available and always work hard. With determination, nothing is impossible,” she said.
Wanja is also mobilising residents to register as voters so that they can make informed decisions on the kind of leaders they want come next year’s general elections.
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