In September 2022, Diana Chepkemoi landed in Kenya after suffering untold horrors at the hands of her employer in Saudi Arabia.
Her only mistake had been dropping out of school to seek greener pastures abroad so as to help her ailing mother and educate her siblings.
This is her journey as told by WoK:
Background
Hailing from Chemalany, Konoin constituency, Bomet county, the 25 year old ordeal began when she deferred her studies at Meru University during her second year to look for work.
Her father had passed away in 2011, and she wanted to help her ailing mother educate her siblings, two of whom were in university while two were in secondary school.
After failing to get a job in Kenya, she decided to try her luck abroad.
In June 2021, she was taken to Saudi Arabia by a travel agent company, which handed her to work as a house manager for one of the royal families.
Hopeful and jubilant, Diana looked forward to starting afresh in the new country.
But her land of opportunity was about to turn into her worst nightmare.
Cruel Boss
Diana´s troubles began on the first day of her job.
From the first day, her boss admonished her whenever she made a mistake and even threatened to jail her.
She was forced to work under unhealthy conditions, and any time she complained, her employer reminded her that she was in a foreign country and there was nothing she could do.
To add salt to injury, she was denied her salary and could therefore not send any money to her mother.
When her family communicated with her employer, he said he was holding her hostage because she was yet to complete her working days as per the contract she had signed.
Even when she fell sick, she was forced to continue working and her employer went as far as to confiscate her phone.
Luckily, she had another phone, which, when she realized that her life was hanging in the balance, she used it to contact Nairobi based lawyer Rosemary Chemutai.
She further shared photos of herself looking emaciated, sicky, and malnourished.
The lawyer reached out to the Kenyan Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the government to appeal for help.
She also posted the photos Diana´s emaciated photos on social media, which went viral and sparked a public outcry for the government to rescue her.
Days later, Diana was rescued from her employer´s house in an ambulance and flown to Kenya, where she was jovially received by her friends and family.
University
Having returned to Kenya, Diana, who is the second born in her family, was interviewed by almost all the media houses about her ordeal.
She was even invited to continue with her studies at the Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST), with the institution offering free accommodation.
She was admitted by the vice chancellor under a work study program, which enabled her to fend for herself and study comfortably.
One Meru politician offered to pay her school fees up to her desired level of education.
She is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Education, Kiswahili and History option.
She has since regained her health and composure and is even active on social media, garnering over 20 000 followers on Tik Tok.
