Patricia Musangi is an entrepreneur in the construction industry, running an artisan workshop in Nairobi.
Her rise to the top came at a cost as she lost her parents at a tender age forcing her to take care of herself.
At some point, Patricia was out of school and she had to work as a house maid to raise money to pay school fees.
Here is her story as told by WoK.
In an interview with Citizen TV, Patricia noted that she had lost both her parents by the time she was in Class Four.
Despite the loss, she picked herself up and she was able to complete her primary school education and qualify to progress to the next level.
However, she was unable to join high school due to lack of school fees forcing her to find other means on survival.
Later that year, she travelled to Nairobi where she was employed as a house maid on a Ksh 1,500 monthly salary.
Patricia noted that her boss would send Ksh 500 home and pay her Ksh 1,000 which she would then save.
She managed to save Ksh 9,000 which was enough to see her through school at the time.
“I saved Ksh 9,000 whicb was enough to see me through secondary school. I told my boss I had missed my family and I wanted to go see them
“I got home and a teacher who was my mother’s friend had started a day school. That’s how I went back to school,” she said.
Patricia studied at the school where she also met sponsors who cleared her school fees arrears after completing Form Four.
After graduating from high school, she travelled to her sister’s place in Nairobi shortly before she was employed as a house maid.
This time round, she would be paid Ksh 2,400 per month which she used to enroll for artisan courses after months of saving.
“I was able to understand computer and later pursued IT after which I was equipped for formal employment,” she said.
Patricia came across Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Foundation and registered for a course in automation engineering with the help of her boss at the time.
Following her graduation, she was supported by her former boss in terms of the required equipments in her field of expertise.
Patricia also recalled how she got her first ever job.
“There was an apartment being constructed somewhere around Ngong Road, I approached them and told them what I dealt in and realized that they wanted to import them
“I told them I was in a position to get them and they accepted. However, because I had no money for the same, I went back to my former boss,” she said.
Patricia had developed a close relationship with his former boss and after consulting him, they took the contract and started working on it.
The job marked the beginning of her career in the construction industry.
At her artisan workshop, she got one welding machine and hired two welders and two casual workers.
Today, she works with 11 welders and hires casual workers depending on the workload and other factors such as meeting a deadline.
