Kenya: Nurse reflects on her vocation in Turkana

Scholastica Wamalwa - screenshot

Scholastica Wamalwa, a member of the Missionary Community of St Paul the Apostle, wrote this piece for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, reflecting on her life and career working as a nurse in Nariokotome Mission, Turkana, northwest Kenya.

I was born in western Kenya to a polygamous family of a father with four wives and 31 siblings. Luckily that my parents were teachers who managed to see us all through our education and most of my siblings work independently. We lived in the countryside in a small village then called Kiminini, which now has outgrown into a big town.

I attended my primary education in a public day school; Kiminini Primary school, where I went through my eight-year primary education.

Having attained good marks, I attended a Catholic high school, one of the best schools in my district of birth and among the best ones in the entire country: St Bridgets Girls' High School, Kiminini, run by Irish missionary sisters, where I learned recently that my parents were among the first generation of teachers in a just independent Kenya, pioneers in the beginning of this school. This school is under the Catholic Diocese of Kitale.

During my high school education, growing up as a teenager, I had my dreams of pursuing a career in the medical field. Like all young enthusiasts, I wanted to be a doctor. Having not attained the required grades to do medicine as that was my passion, I joined nursing school at Kenya Medical training college, Kisumu, along the shores of Lake Victoria.

Also, just after finishing high school, through my Carmelite auntie, Sr Marie Terese, I came into contact with The Missionary Community of St Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) and was very moved by their work in northern Kenya. I decided to visit them and there my desire for a missionary life started growing. I felt at home, loved it and am currently working as a missionary in the northern part of Kenya among the most marginalized, offering my services as a nurse among others.

Back to education. In Kenya, and if I am not wrong, in many cultures in Africa, Science sounds like a very heavy term and many young people choosing careers seem to shy away, especially girls. Unfortunately, in the societies we live in, gender still dictates even what you are capable of but this is a fallacy. We are all capable of doing and acquiring what we want.

"Whoever wants to do something does better than anyone who knows" - this phrase I learned from our founder, Fr. Paco and it has always inspired me. My hope is to inspire more young women to see that they are able to pursue science courses, just as much as boys are.

Working in Turkana in the medical field where health services, among others, are limited, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to pursue nursing as I am able to help save some lives. I sometimes regret why I never got to do medicine, as at times you find yourself in situations where limited knowledge doesn't allow you to do much. Nevertheless, with my limited knowledge, I enjoy practicing my career in this remote area and every day comes with an experience and surprise of its own. You sometimes end up doing things that you could never expect to do, dealing with emergencies in areas where there are very limited resources.

All in all, if I had to start afresh, I would work much harder to pursue science subjects well as I now realise that this would have opened doors, my world to an even wider perspective, to embrace new things, technology and enter into an even bigger world of exploration. Above all save lives. My encouragement has always been for young people, especially girls, to embrace studies with courage and conviction, to have and develop a passion for science, as it's a world worth exploring and can open many doors for their future. Right now we have two young Turkana girls who just graduated in nursing and are really happy, full of hope of exploring more in this industry of nursing and medicine. They are also a source of inspiration for more young Turkana girls and women.

2026 is the 30th anniversary of the nutritional nurseries. If you would like to support our work see: www.goodhub.com/go/nutritionalnurseries

Watch the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIerqSSTu6U