The story of Joyce Awino is a cocktail of of resilience and determination. The 22-year old lady has worked against all odds to shine in the male-dominated building sector.
Immediately after her completing her secondary school education in 2019, it became apparent that she would not join higher institution of learning. With a D+ in KCSE and a poverty-stricken background, her education life came to an end.
Unaware of her fate, Awino travelled to Nairobi to stay with her older brother.It is while there that she met her boyfriend Sylvester Otongo who then taught her how to fit tiles.
While speaking speaking to Public News, Awino revealed that her dream was to be an engineer or a technician.
“I always wanted to be an engineer, electrician, a plumber… something technical. My parents kept on telling me that they’ll take me to school until I lost hope. But I am glad that I am now an expert in tiles fitting,” Awino said.
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It took Awino just two months just two months to master the skill. After the schooling, she began with her boyfriend, carrying between Ksh. 600 and Ksh.1000 per day.
Awino praised Otongo for being exceptional and selfless.
“Otongo is not like other boyfriends. When I requested him to teach me I thought he would refuse but he was more than willing to.”
No Gain Without Pain
At first, Awino used to feel a lot of back pain after working but she soon got used to it. She also decried clients who do not pay their money on time.
“Sometimes people do not realize how hard we work. You will find someone staying for so long without paying dues.”
Awino and Otongo now run a tiles -fitting called Fieldspar tiles installer centre. They charges KSh 300 for plain tiles per square foot and KSh 450 per square foot for patterned tiles.
The companies has over 23 people and travel across the country to deliver the services.
