Home assistants, commonly referred to as domestic workers, are often times faced by a myriad of challenges while in their profession. From having an unstable background to being abused in one way or another by their employers, the rates of success for these individuals is usually limited by circumstances.
It’s, therefore, always great to celebrate those that do succeed in this industry and inspire others to have hope and strive for success.
Margaret Onyango's Success Story
My name is Margaret Ong’ayo and I am 48 years old. I received my training with the CDTD in 2003. Training was beneficial and impacted my domestic job because it gave me the necessary experience to perform well on the job. I am now a certified and trained domestic worker which helps me stand out during the job search and increases the chances of getting a job now. Domestic workers experience so many challenges. A lot of the times, domestic workers are overworked, and they are also underpaid. It is also likely that they are mistreated by employers. This training has made sure we are getting adequate pay.
The organization also empowers and aids workers that are being mistreated. After several years, I am still a domestic worker but there has been changes in my experience because I participated in training. Before, I only could cook African foods then I worked for white people for a week and cooked their food and I find the recipes easy to follow. I also now drive and have the experience of taking the children to school. My biggest advice to women who want to be domestic workers is that work is something we all have to do, and we should all love our jobs because it pays. I believe my biggest accomplishment in life is being a mother because I have managed to bring up my children and educate them.
Kelly Mukasia's Success Story
My name is Kelly Mukasia and I am 44 years old. I received a six-month training with the CDTD in 2018. Before the training, I had previous domestic work experience, but the training helped me specialize and improve my skills. I learned about different specialties ranging from self-care to housekeeping. I now am certified and can even guide and help other people because of this experience. The treatment and challenges of domestic workers depend on the employer. Some employers can give you hard work, but guide and teach you how to do it correctly. Other employers can give you a lot of work and do not offer you rest breaks and can even threaten to kick you out if the work is not completed appropriately.
The training has taught me how to communicate with the employer when experiencing an issue or when I do not understand how to do something. I had been working with the same employer for 3 months, but he has left for a short trip and will return soon. I am currently unemployed. My biggest advice to women who want to be domestic workers is to always be ready to work and jump on the opportunity of a new employer. My biggest accomplishment in life is I am always willing to work and seek new opportunities. In the future, I want to assist others and teach them how to come out from poverty.
Wilbrodah Jerusah's Success Story
My name is Wilbrodah Jerusah and I am 35 years old. I received a one-month training with the CDTD in January 2009. Training was an educational experience and I became aware of so many things in the domestic work industry that I had no idea of. I learned about general homecare management, laundry work, cookery as well as expected conduct when working as a domestic worker. The training has exposed me to so many avenues of how I can pursue justice in case of rights violation and to also speak up for other domestic workers who go through different forms of injustices. Domestic works go through a myriad of challenges like working for long hours, lacking official engagement documents that clarify the scope and nature of work involved, harassment, physical and sexual exploitation, late payment among many others.
By applying the skills, I gained through my training, I am able to professionally engage my boss in the event there is an issue that needs to be sorted out between us. I currently doing the same job. There is a great deal of satisfaction in the realization that somebody somewhere appreciates the marvelous job done by domestic workers, especially my current boss. My advice to any woman who would be interested in pursuing domestic work as a career is to equip themselves with the necessary and relevant skills that will make it easy for them to have easy time when discharging their domestic work duties. My accomplishment courtesy of domestic work has made it possible for me to school my children, build a house for myself in the village as well as provide basic needs for my children and partly to my extended family.
Elizabeth Wanjiru's Success Story
My name is Elizabeth Wanjiru and I am 49 years old. I received my training with the CDTD in August through October of 2018. The training experience was an eye opener to me. There are things that I had always overlooked when doing domestic chores before. I perfected my skills in cooking, learned about laundry work, general cleanliness, life skills and how to relate with employer. I am now more conscious of time management and also meeting my employer’s expectations when it comes to the general duties of domestic work assigned to me. Challenges faced by domestic workers are numerous like delayed payment, having to adapt into a whole different family setup that has never been a part of you, physical and sexual harassment. I currently do the same job, but I find a lot of inspiration and humility in it. My advice to women who want to be domestic workers is to never look down upon domestic work as a career. This is just a job like any other. My biggest accomplishment is through domestic work I have been able to construct myself a permanent house back in the village, see my children through school and have daily upkeep from the pay that I get every month.
