Ms. Pisoi Kijabe was born a normal child in a family of six siblings in the Naroosura area, Narok South Sub County.
But while in class four, the 33-year-old woman developed a sickness that affected her backbone, imposing a permanent disability on her at a tender age.
“I was a brilliant girl and I loved being in school. But when I started developing complications, I was hospitalised at Kijabe Mission Hospital, where doctors did their best to improve my limbs in vain,” she recalled.
The young girl was therefore forced to drop out of school and depended fully on her parents and her sibling for her livelihood.
“Life completely changed for me. Every move I had to make, I depended on someone to hold my hand. What motivated me was my family that showered a lot of love on me and encouraged me to be strong,” she said.
Nevertheless, everything did not move as smoothly as expected. The worst happened when Pisoi lost her father, who used to be the pillar of their family when she was a teenage girl. The big loss forced the family to struggle for basic needs like food and clothing.
The love and unity that were in the family slowly started fading away and slowly, her siblings, who used to be her only hope, started seeing her as a big burden to the family.
“My sisters started fighting me and at one point, one of my sisters stabbed me with a kitchen knife. This is the day my eyes were opened and I realised that I was no longer needed in the family,” she painfully remembered.
Pisoi was forced to move out of her parental home at the age of 20 to look for another place to call home.
She was too bitter about her condition and regretted that she was born to face such a big challenge. But with spiritual guidance and counselling from her local church, she was able to accept her condition and soldiered on.
At this point, she had mastered the art of bead making, where she could make beautiful Maa artefacts and sell them to the neighbours.
Using the little she had earned from the bead-making business, she rented a small house in Naroosura town, where she lives to date.
Pisoi was blessed with four children, three girls and one boy, whom she feeds, educates, clothes and provides all other basic needs for through her bead-making business.
“I am the sole breadwinner for my children. I have no other friends except my children. I am determined to educate them until they become professionals so that they can take care of me when I am old,” she continued.
During market days, Pisoi, with the help of her last-born daughter, moves in her wheelchair to sell her beautiful beads.
“I thank God for my talent in making beads. I can make all kinds of artefacts that attract many customers. I pay house rent and maintain my family with the profit I get,” she explained.
“I no longer complain to God, but I thank him for the gift of life he has given me. I have learnt to trust in him alone,” Pisoi reiterated.
Pisoi is a good example of people who struggle to earn a living despite their condition and background. She condemned the habit of moving in the streets and borrowing money and asked persons living with disabilities to discover their talents and work on them so that they can earn a decent livelihood.
“I have learnt that disability is not inability. We are able to do things differently and we too can contribute to the growth of our nation.”
By Ann Salaton
