Finding a good job is a dream for every graduate in Kenya today. However, the shortage of jobs today has made most young people opt for alternative means of survival. While some opt to start small business as they look for jobs, most youths settle for any job opportunity that comes their way even if it means doing casual jobs. Kenya’s unemployment rate is 7.4%, according to the 2015/2016 Labour Force Basic Report done by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics. The basic salary for an entry level job in Kenya is about Kshs 30000. In some cases, the amount is lower while in others the amount is slightly higher. An article featured on the Daily Nation in 2017 highlights the frustrations that the youth are undergoing because of lack of jobs.
Here is a breakdown for someone earning Kshs 30,000 living in Nairobi, Kenya. Let’s call him Njoroge. Njoroge has a wife who is just a housewife. She too is a graduate who is still looking for a job. Njoroge lives with his wife in a single room costing say Kshs 5000. He also does monthly shopping for things like maize flour, rice, cooking oil and the like. That is roughly Kshs 5000 on the lower side. Daily, he leaves Kshs 100 at the house for food. For a month, that will amount to Kshs 3000. Njoroge’s transport and lunch expenses to and from work on the lower side may amount to Kshs 5000. Water and Electricity expenses may amount to Kshs. 1000. Njoroge’s wife needs to have her hair and nails done, let’s give that Kshs 1500. The parents at home need something to survive with for a month. Assuming they grow food and only need accompaniments, Kshs 3000 may help. Njoroge took a loan last year to start a kinyozi business back at home which failed as soon as it started. He is still servicing the loan at Kshs 3000 per month. If my calculations are correct the total amount up to this point is Kshs 28500, leaving him with Kshs 1500. Assuming he doesn’t give offering at church, he doesn’t have children elsewhere to cater for, he doesn’t go online (y’all know how Safaricom does us), he doesn’t have friends to hang out with, he doesn’t go home until Christmas and most importantly he doesn’t fall sick, this is the approximate amount that Njoroge can save a month. For a year he will have saved Kshs 18000 only.
The saddest part of all this is there is a young graduate somewhere who would give anything to get Njoroge’s job or an even worse-paying job. If this doesn’t give you hope then I don’t know what will. Every day is a struggle. The kind of society we live in has made people scared to open up and speak about their situations and seek help because a joke will come out of it. Trust me, Kenyans have answers. Reading Kenyans’ comments on social media can lead someone into depression. If you have a friend who has gone awfully quiet since graduation, they are not on social media, check up on them. Be kind to everyone you meet because you don’t know the kind of struggles they undergo. We live in a society that is ready to make jokes about someone’s situation and blame the depression on alcohol and the “city life.” We are so quick to tell these people “Nairobi ni ya wenyewe, rudi ushago ka umeshindwa” yet the struggle is the same all over.
Also if you’re a housewife, appreciate your man for taking care of you. Sometimes they may not say it but they need encouragement. They need to know that their struggles are not in vain. That someone appreciates them. That someone needs them. Encourage one another and be their strength.
Great piece.
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