A devastated mother from Mwea, Kirinyaga county, has emotionally opened up about how she ended up losing her job and health. Jane Njeru was healthy, strong, fluent in English, and Kiswahili until she travelled to Saudi Arabia. The mother of three went abroad in search of greener pastures, not knowing what awaited her in the Gulf. How long did Njeru work in Saudi? The lady who currently uses a wheelchair, said she only worked for two months in Saudi before returning home, in a devastating state. “I worked for two bosses in the space of two months. It was in the second house that my woes started. The boss lady used to overwork me. She would give me so much work that I could not complete it in time. In addition to that, she never fed me well. She always served me little portions of food. I remember the day she served me very little rice. That was when I became sick. She told me I should serve her husband once I was done eating, but I could not. My hands felt heavy, and I fell. I could not talk,” she narrated.
Njeru wakes up in hospital in Saudi Arabia She remembered waking up in the hospital, but she could still not talk and her left side was numb. She stayed for some days in the medical institution before she was discharged on a wheelchair. “A gentleman advised me to book a flight back to Kenya because I needed to be treated. He told me there was no way I could work in my state. Thankfully, there were no major challenges in my return to Kenya, though my health had deteriorated,” she said. Njeru returns to Kenya, welcomed by sister and daughter When she arrived in Kenya, she was welcomed by her two family members, who were her sister and daughter. Her sister took her in and lived with her for a while before she ruthlessly kicked her out. “She said she could no longer take care of me and her child because of the tough economy. I was in despair and begged her to keep me but she had made up her mind. She called my elder daughter who came and picked me up. Life was not as smooth as after two months, my elder daughter said she was tired of caring for me.
She was tired of caring for her mother. She was tired of cooking for me and changing my catheter. She began making calls to other family members saying I was a burden to her and she could no longer stay with me,” Njeru said. Njeru relies on young daughter for help In an interview with TUKO.co.ke, Njeru said the doctors told her she had a stroke which paralysed her mobility. “I cannot lift my left hand and leg and when I try to do so they feel heavy and painful. I never used to stammer. I started stammering after the Saudi incident. Life is tough. My young daughter had to change school so that she could take care of me, but it is a challenge,” she tearfully said.
by John Green
