Kericho: As the world marks this year’s International Women’s Day and celebrates the resilience, courage, and progress of women across the globe, one woman in Kericho is quietly redefining gender roles at a dusty construction site. Nancy Cherubet, aged 34, is a strong-willed mother of five who has defied expectations by thriving in the male-dominated world of construction, mixing concrete, lifting heavy materials, and pushing loaded wheelbarrows alongside her male colleagues.
According to Kenya News Agency, Cherubet is clad in a dust-covered overall, worn boots, a safety cap, and a reflector jacket as she moves confidently at a private construction site near Kiprugut Chumo Stadium in Kericho, focused on digging the foundation for a new project. She recounted how circumstances forced her to explore informal work after years of unsuccessfully seeking formal employment in the beauty industry.
Cherubet completed her secondary education and pursued a course in hairdressing and beauty at a technical training college, hoping to build a career in the beauty industry. Despite practicing hair braiding privately, she struggled to secure consistent opportunities, and the income was not enough to support her five children, prompting her to explore other options. She turned to casual work, offering laundry services in local estates, a job that earned her at least Sh 1200 per day. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her business as strict social distancing measures limited home visits, forcing her to find alternative sources of income.
‘When the pandemic hit, most people didn’t want me in their homes due to the Ministry of Health protocols, and that’s when I tried my luck in construction work,’ she said. Today, she lives in Nyagacho estate on the outskirts of Kericho Town, and though the work is physically demanding, she has grown into her role with persistence and dedication. ‘At first, it was very tough, many of the men mocked me or doubted that I could handle the labor, but I kept showing up, determined to prove myself,’ she said.
Cherubet now earns up to KSh 2,000 a day, depending on the type of work she’s assigned. Every shilling she makes goes toward providing for her five children, with the responsibility of paying school fees and ensuring all other family needs are met as the sole breadwinner. She says her children are her greatest source of strength and the reason she wakes up early each day to search for construction work, despite the fatigue and pressure. ‘I work hard because I want my children to pursue successful careers, maybe become doctors or engineers, I don’t want them to struggle the way I did,’ she said.
With five years of experience on site, Cherubet has mastered technical skills such as cutting, welding, and shaping metal, trades she once believed were the preserve of men. Her long-term dream is to start her own construction company and employ other women who feel stuck or rejected by conventional paths, just as she once did. She also plans to pursue a certificate in building and construction to enhance her skills and eventually become a certified engineer to attract better opportunities in the near future.
Cherubet uses her story to encourage young women, especially those without jobs, to step out of fear and embrace bold paths toward self-reliance, urging them not to fear searching for opportunities at construction sites, saying there are many on-job skills to be acquired practically. She believes that dignity and strength are not limited to boardrooms or beauty salons; they can be found even in the dust, sweat, and steel of a construction site.