Veronicah

Veronicah’s Story

Veronicah knew she would end up working as a laborer in tea farms just like her single mom, or as a domestic servant in the city if she did not go to school. That thought alone terrified her because she knew the struggles that came with hard manual labor and low wages in return.

Before joining high school, she stayed home for months while her mates pursued education because her mom could not afford to raise the required fees. On many occasions, they went to bed hungry as there was no food. Veronicah’s grandfather whose house they lived in insulted them and threatened to kick them out each time he was drunk.

She survived sexual abuse at 12 years old by her uncle but could not talk about it because she did not know what to do about it. Sometimes when there wasn't any food at home, Veronicah’s mom would send her to live at an aunt's place so she would be catered for. Unfortunately, her aunt’s husband started taking advantage of her situation and molested her.

Eventually, she got lucky and secured a scholarship to a boarding school that enabled her to continue with education. During that time, her mother got married. Veronicah was excited and hoped things would be better. Surprisingly, her stepfather did not want anything to do with her. He overworked her with chores and verbally abused her at every chance he got, and he was not supportive of her education.

GLOW’s arrival in her life was timely just as she was ready for college. She majored in forensics at the Technical University of Kenya before transitioning into the National Intelligence Service. Her greatest desire is to handle child assault cases and homicide.

“I wouldn’t want any criminal to go unpunished like it happened to me,” she said.

Her goal is to help her mom out of the abusive marriage and be a role model to her siblings.