Image: COURTESY
Digital content creator Maureen Waititu in a recent interview with YouTube content creator Lynn Ngugi has opened up on the struggles of going up in a humble background with a single mother.
The mother of 2 in the tell-all interview opened up about growing up marked with loss and hardship, but above all her determination to rise above it all and set a different course for her life.
“I am a rainbow baby, I have an elder sister who I never got to meet. I normally say, I am the child who came to heal.
My mum never talks about it, and that would make me so emotional just imagining how they were handling grief and sadness then. They gave birth to me, and after several months, they were not able to be together,” the digital content creator candidly revealed.
She went on to divulge how she grew up in the care of her aunt and grandmother for extended periods while her mother toiled to make ends meet.
A move she revealed made her be unable to recognize her own mother for a while.
Image: COURTESY
Image: COURTESY
“At a tender age, I would call her aunt since my other cousins would call her the same.
Then I used to wonder why she would come and give me all the attention. I would later learn that she is my mum, and she would take me during the holiday.
She would leave me and come back in the evening, so I became very independent when I was very young,” Maureen told Lynn.
By the age of 7, Maureen, who also happens to be a lawyer, said that she was self-reliant, handling tasks and responsibilities beyond her years.
She praised her relatives for providing her with wonderful care during her formative years.
However, she'd made herself the solemn promise to make her way so she started working before she joined campus and finally moved out at only 19 years of age.
“My first job was as a salesperson for half a day, but it was hectic, and I quit,” Maureen reminisced.
She then took up a position as a waitress, earning a meagre 300 bob per day.
At the age of 19, with Sh11,000 saved up, Maureen decided to move out and start a new chapter in her life, she found a house in Mathare, a humble beginning to her newfound independence.
Soon after, an opportunity arose at Absa Bank (formerly Barclays Bank), and Maureen applied with her humble half-page CV.
Her determination and work ethic played a crucial role in securing the job, where she earned about Sh1,000 per day. From there she worked tirelessly, often taking on overtime shifts to better her prospects.
“My first furniture was a plastic chair and a mattress.”
Despite the hardships, she was resolute in her pursuit of education, and she attributes a significant portion of her school fees to her own earnings.
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