Getting a job in Kenya is no walk in the park. Even with academic papers, you will still need the right connections to secure the ever-elusive job opportunities. This has forced Kenyans to seek greener pastures abroad. Wealthy Arabian countries have been absorbing foreigners to work as housemaids, guards, drivers and other professions. Kenyans have been flocking recruitment agencies to apply for these jobs. It has been reported in a section of the media of cruelty meted on Kenyans working in these foreign countries by their employers but that has not stopped thousands from moving to oil rich countries.
General requirements
Required to take care of the child including teaching the child at home
Clean the house, wash and iron clothes
Prepare meals for the family
Run errands for the family as may be require
Carry out all the assigned related tasks
Job Qualifications and Experience
Certificate in Early Childhood Development Education*added advantage
Experience in the same or related role required
Must have good communication skills with the ability to teach children
Must be respectful and trustworthy
Should be strong and hardworking in nature
A positive attitude is required
So how much are Kenyans working as house maids paid?
Kenyans house helps earn from kes20,000 and upto kes30,000. It also depends with the employer and what you have to offer.
Is It All Roses To Walk In Middle East?
A documentary aired on BBC ‘Why Slavery’ in 2018 exposed the suffering domestic workers working in the Middle East undergo. The house maids have to subscribe to a system known as “Kafala” where the workers have limited rights and legally bound to their employers. Under this system, the employer subject the women to physical abuse, underpay and overwork them.
The expose prompted some African and Asian countries to ban recruitment of their nationalities as domestic workers.
A domestic worker told hrw.org of her tribulation working as a house maid in the Middle East:
The [employer’s] houses were too big and salary very little. I was working for four houses for 50 rials (US$130) [per month] only. It was not fair.… I told this to the agent [in Oman] and said, “I want to go back home.…” She said, “You cannot go anywhere; your boss has your passport. So, shut up and keep on working.”
