The art of shoe shining has, for a long time, been considered to be men’s forte.
But this norm is not true for Violet Khavetsa, who works as a shoe shiner in the Central Business District (CBD) in Kakamega town.
Khavetsa has shunned the idea that some jobs are for men while others are specifically for women.
Her seventeen years of working experience affirm that what a man can do, a woman can do better.
Sitting next to Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Khavetsa, a single mother, has carved a niche for herself.
“My line of work is less demanding, and it gives me time to work on other things,” she opines.
‘As a single mother, it is a challenge when you have responsibilities to take care of your family and you lack a source of income,” she adds.
Before the promulgation of the constitution in August 2010, when the town (now the Governor’s office) still had a mayor, I could pick up my client’s shoes and clean them, she says.
“They destroyed my stall, and now I have to sit on a rock to serve my clients,” she says.
She says that her line of work has its challenges, like having to deal with the municipal council askaris.
On average, I make up to five hundred Kenya shillings. My work begins at 6 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. She added that the cost of living is high, and she ended up spending the stock money she invested on school fees and funeral service expenses for her late husband.
Her son, Willison Otallo, is hoping to join St. Patrick’s Ikonyero High school. With no father in the family, he is dependent on her mother to join the school, though his colleagues joined way back in mid-January.
She resounded, “God is the provider and I will keep working hard,”
By Imungu Bright
