Susan Jepkemboi Kanda, a 60-year-old mother of five was among the candidates sitting for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination. Born in an era when girls were considered as part of family assets, she was not able to access education during her childhood as her work was to look after her family’s livestock and take care of house chores as her brothers went to school.
Even at her advanced age, her thirst for education could not go unquenched and in 2008 she started going to school, she enrolled in class one and went through all classes to date when she is going to sit for her final examination. “After all my children had gone through school I decided to fulfill my dreams of getting a formal education,” said Mrs Kanda who is commonly referred to as Dr Toiyoi among her peers and clients for her herbal acumen.
Mrs Kanda was born in Ngorngoroi village in Kapsowar Marakwet West Sub County. She started schooling just like any other child in 1966 but her dreams of education were shattered after her father withdrew her from school
“My father was a male chauvinist to the extent that he could not allow girls to go to school. To him it was a waste of resources to educate a girl who would later be married off to another family,” she said adding that his father was only interested in what girls would bring to the family in terms of dowry.
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She said at her childhood while he watched her brothers go to school, she was subjected to hard labour and tending to family’s livestock. “I wish I was born in this era,” she added. Her time at home could not cloud her mind so she decided to be an apprentice to her grandmother who was a herbalist. And by the time she was married off she had acquired expertise in traditional medicine, a skill she has used to get daily bread for her family, hence the name Dr Toiyoi.
In 1978, she was married off to Pius Kiprop Arap Chepkurui and as her father fulfilled his wishes of adding more livestock to his den, and young Jepkemboi embarked on her life armed with only herbalist skills.
The herbal business that took her to several destinations in Kapsowar, Kapteren, Iten, Kabarnet, Chepterway, Eldoret, Olessos Nandi hills. That’s when she realized she needed formal education to communicate with her clients.
Though she is native Marakwet, she settled at Nandi North to work on her business. In 2008, after all her children had completed secondary school, she enrolled at Ndalat Gaa primary school in class one. She says learning with children was a big challenge but she managed to shelve her pride to wear school uniform and recite the alphabet and numbers with other pupils who were young enough to be her grandchildren.
Focusing on medicine
Her first results at class one at the end of the term were an impressive 314 out of possible 400 marks and proceeded; she attended to her clients during her free time, she says.
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After seven years of study, she moved to Kapsowar where she registered for her KCPE examinations last year after studying at home for another year and the proud mother of five adorning blue uniforms is now sitting for her exams. Recounting her history, Mrs Kanda says she wants to excel in her education and later study medicine to perfect her dream of being a doctor and may be even merge traditional and modern medicine.
Her advice to anyone who wants to pursue education? “It is never too late to acquire formal education. Look at me I am now sitting for KCPE after eight years and I will still be pressing on.”
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