My long painful struggle in search of a job

By Faith Ronoh

Eldoret, Kenya: Brenda Metto has been jobless for half a decade now. Reality dawned on her immediately she stepped into the overcrowded unemployment line that winds its way deep into the horizon. 

She graduated from Moi University with a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism in 2008. Brenda, now 30, has sent hundreds of applications seeking employment to no avail.

She sits outside her home in Kapseret, Eldoret perusing through her Curriculum Vitae and other academic credentials enveloped by a sense of helplessness.

 “I cannot say I have not tried because I have been applying for jobs left, right, centre,” says Brenda. “I also take the initiative to drop my resume in several offices, meet directors and company CEOs. But even then, I haven’t been employed,” she says.

 She has worked once since graduating from college. It was a six month contract working with an Eldoret hotel. Once the contract expired, she did not get a full time offer.

 Search for work elsewhere has not yielded any fruit. After attending several interviews, including some which she says seemed promising, she has never landed either full time employment or even a regret letter.

 “I wonder how I have never received a single regret letter or employment letter despite the many job applications I have been sending year in, year out,” she says.

 The job search and heartache has taken a toll on her health. She is suffering from stress and other related health risks.

“There is a point that I felt helpless. I even lost weight within a short span and after visiting a doctor, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and advised to reduce stress,” she explains.

Even so, she says her dream of scaling the heights of education has not died. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the Catholic University, thanks to her husband who has been financing her.

Kill morale

 But there is a part of her that is partially dead and chillingly phlegmatic. She has never found peace knowing how much her single mother spent, up to the last cent, paying both her secondary and university school fees without any return.

 “What usually disturbs me is the fact that my mother took a loan to finance my education but I have not been able to pay back. This has continued to kill my morale and energy to keep on sending job applications,” she says.

 Five years down the line, Brenda lives one day at a time, hopeful that lady luck will one day come knocking on her door and that she will find a job to sustain her and finally make her dreams come true.