By Prudence Minayo
Most people have heard sad stories of how difficult it is to educate girls in a patriarchal community, where they are only seen as future wives and mothers. For Sophia Lepuchurit this was her reality. Having grown up in Wamba, Samburu county, she braved through numerous challenges to become the first Samburu Woman to join university.
Here is her story as told by WoK.
Early Life
While her parents so no value in education, a catholic priest helped her and a few other girls through school. She was able to finish primary school and then joined St. Theresa’s Girls, Wamba for her O levels.
Successfully completing her O levels, she was set to go to Butere Girls but first she had to undergo FGM.
“It is by the grace of God that we are alive. While the practice is performed, they remove you from the hut very early in the morning and pour cold water on your head and naked body. They use the same razor blade on everybody. My hair was shaved later as the custom dictated,” she recalled in an interview with The Standard.
Reporting to High school
When she reported to Butere with shaved hair, other girls assumed she had lost someone. This is because some people have the culture of shaving after losing a loved one. She did not bother correcting them as telling then the truth was not an option.
During holidays, she remained in school. Her parents were nomads and at times she would go home only to find they had moved. They also never attended visiting days as having never stepped in school that was a foreign concept.
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After successfully completing her A Levels, she joined the University of Nairobi. This made her the first girl from her community to join the university. While some may consider this a major feat, it was not looked upon favourably by men from her community. They hated her as girls who completed O levels were not seen as fit to marry. She, on the other hand, had completed form six and was joining university.
In 1983, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Public Administration from the University of Nairobi.
Employment
In 1984, she was employed as an assistant secretary by the Public Service Commission.
In 1990, she began working as an Assistant Superintendent under the Administration Division of the Central Bank of Kenya. She worked here for three years.
She also worked with a United Nations sponsored non governmental organisation that advocated for peace in her home region. Thus, she found meaning in community work and would often preach against FGM while advising parents to take their girls to school. Of course, this was not taken kindly by most men in the community.
Sophia Lepuchurit would then join hands with her friend Rebecca Lolosoli to found Umoja Village. It was basically created to offer refuge to marginalised and abused women. She then became director of Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation.
Personal Life
Sophia is married to a man from the Taita community and is a mother of four- three boys and one girl.
