Orphan Who Worked as Watchman, Sold Mangoes To Raise Fees Celebrates Nursing Career
- When Jared Omache became a total orphan at the age of six, his life was turned upside down as there was no one to pay for his education
- He was forced to leave home in search of work, which included being a watchman and selling mangoes to earn a living and save for college
- Omache is currently a certified and practising medic, having graduated from medical school with a Distinction
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Jared Omache has worked his socks off, in its literal sense, to not only go through school but also create a stable career for himself.
Source: UGC
His life had taken a turn at the age of six when he buried his only remaining parent; a father, who had been a military officer in the Kenya Airforce.
In an exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh Hillary Lisimba, Omache disclosed that for so many years he lost hope in his dream of going to college.
"This is after I got 5 admissions from different institutions but failed to join because I had no means of paying my college fees," he said.
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Somehow, he still went ahead and started applying for college admission after he got his KCSE results
Unfortunately, no one came forward to help him when the admission letters came, so he moved to Nairobi in search of a job and, hopefully, an education.
Started as a watchman
The first job Omache landed when he got to the city was that of a watchman along Thika Road, earning a monthly wage of KSh 3,500.
He explains that as much as he was making some money to live on, it was too little to save for his education.
"While working as a night watchman at night, I decided to be going around the estates to look for other gigs to supplement the income," he remembered.
The side hustles made him step up the monthly earnings to KSh 7000, but after paying rent in the rented house in Huruma as well as other expenses he would be left with KSh 1,000.
Tried begging on streets
When he hit rock bottom, Omache tried to go round the streets of Nairobi with forms to raise fees, but only got KSh 375 after a whole week.
"Another day, some people beat me thinking I was just using the excuse of forms to rob them, which would be my last day to beg because I had to nurse the injuries for two weeks," Omache noted.
He went back to the driving board and decided to use the KSh 1,000 he was left with monthly to train on computer education and driving.
This was made possible when he befriended a taxi person along Thika road whom he promised to pay KSh 200 on days he was free for him to teach him driving.
"I also befriended a cyber cafe guy, and agreed to be giving him KSh 300 per day to teach me computer basics when I had money and was free," he disclosed.
Well-wisher sponsored his college
Doors started opening when he got an M-Pesa job from which he saved and paid for college to do computer packages and basics in IT.
This move helped him land the next job as a cyber cafe attendant where he designed winning presentations and compiled projects for people.
With the internet at his disposal, Omache devoted time to studying online and improving his skills and knowledge.
"One day, I got a call from one of the people I had done a presentation for who was so impressed that he offered me a partial sponsorship for a diploma course," Omache remembered.
Coincidentally, that was also the day he received a call to pick an admission letter from the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Msambweni Campus in South Coast.
Graduated with a Distinction
During his college days, he made ends meet by doing menial jobs like cleaning hotels and delivering the vehicles that had been imported into the country to their destinations.
Msambweni being a Mango region, Omache also sold mangoes in Diani as well as worked as a part-time tout over the weekends.
"During my attachment period, I would beg staff who had confidence in me to let me cover them during the night shift and on weekends then they would pay me," he relived.
He says that he went through all those hustles because he needed to raise school fees and his upkeep and that was the only option between him and his dreams.
After all the struggle, sweat and blood, Omache proudly graduated with distinction and is now a certified Counseling Psychologist who earns a decent living.
Sold newspapers to finance education
In an almost similar story, media personality Dan Kwaku Yeboah recounted how he sold newspapers to finance his education in high school.
The head of sports at Despite Media also revealed that he sometimes relied on leftover food to survive.
Yeboah emotionally remembered how he lived under scruffy conditions with his senior brother in a single room.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
