You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” This quote by Maya Angelou resonates well with the life of Nelly Chepkurui Ronoh.

Nelly, 34, is a go-getter, courageous and enthusiastic, an all-rounded medical imaging specialist.

“I am a lecturer at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Nairobi campus where I teach Radiography, both Diploma and National Higher Diploma students in ultrasound and radiotherapy. I am also a Senior Ultra sonographer at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi and the only sonographer who does mobile/home ultrasound services under Aga Khan University Hospital,” she says.  

Besides that, she is a Transcranial Doppler Consultant for Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) on needs basis. This is a specialised kind of ultrasound to check velocity of blood flow in blood vessels in the brain, especially for sickle cell anaemia patients.

Despite her achievements, life hasn’t been all rosy for her. The mother of three children aged 15, 10 and eight went through divorce, something she terms as one of the difficult moments in her life.

“It has been nine years since I left. I must say that it has not been easy, but still rewarding. As the saying goes ‘adversity introduces you to yourself’ has been the story of my life,” says Nelly.

Teenage crisis

“Leaving my marriage while two months pregnant and with two other children to take care of remains my biggest story of courage, optimism and liberation. I got married when I was only 19 and as much as things didn’t work out, I thank God for everything for it was in his perfect plan for my life. Today, this experience gives me a platform to encourage other women and young girls who face the same challenges as I did,” she adds.

 Nelly was born and raised in Bomet county in a small village called Kapkuress in a family of six siblings where she is the second born.

She offers: “I began school in 1992 at Kapkuress Primary School for my nursery and Class One where my mother was my class teacher. I moved to a neighbouring Kinyelwet Primary School in Class Two before moving to Nairobi Statehouse Primary School for two years where I stayed with my uncle who worked as a presidential escort police. He was later transferred and I moved to Tengecha Boarding School between 1997 and 2000 where I sat for my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and scored 534 marks out of 700.”

Nelly then joined Pangani Girls High School in Nairobi in 2001, but dropped out of school in June 2004 while in Form Four and just about to sit for her final exams.

“I was struggling with teenage crisis. It is a real issue that parents and the community do not fully understand or know how to handle it. We are branded as rebels, yet deep inside we are helpless and just want someone to listen to us,” she says.

In 2005, she joined Nakuru High School, but was forced to repeat Form Three. She not only scored a mean grade B- which was below her capacity, but also completed secondary school while pregnant. She got married that same year.

Talk of the village “I got married to get away from home. I was the talk of the whole village and every one warned their children against associating with me lest they get misled. It was tough and painful since even our own relatives talked about me and laughed at my parents for having a child like me who wouldn’t listen,” says Nelly.

In September 2008, she reported to KMTC Nairobi campus for a Diploma in Neurophysiology Technology and completed her studies in 2011, but since it was a relatively new course, jobs were hard to come by.

She resorted to go back to KMTC to pursue radiography and imaging. “Life was tough and being unable to find a job and with a second child in an unstable marriage, I chose to go back to school to pursue radiography as I saw it as the easiest and quickest way to stabilise myself should things hit rock bottom in my marriage. My friends who were radiographers by then were doing so well and it was certain to me that I was in the right track. That’s how I reported back to KMTC in September of 2012,” she says.

Nelly offers: “I completed the course in 2014 and immediately enrolled for a Higher Diploma in Ultrasound, which saw me graduate as a qualified sonographer in December 2015. In September 2016, I enrolled at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) for a Bachelor’s degree in Radiography (Therapy Option). I am currently pursuing a Master of Science in Health Economics and Policy at the University of Nairobi.”

Turn around On coping with divorce, Nelly says there had been signs of an impending failure of the marriage and when she finally decided to walk out and go back home, her family was supportive.

“My dad and mum took care of my two children and took them to school. They sent me back to college as well to complete school as I struggled with the third pregnancy. My siblings would send me pocket money and call me every day to find out how I was doing at school and if l needed anything.

My friends Ann, Rispa and Nancy literally held my hand. Even after school as I was settling down, they would pay my rent and buy food for my children,” she reveals.

She adds: “I kept the focus. I refused to be mocked forever and decided to change my life and work hard. I listened to the likes of Myles Munroe, TD Jakes, Steve Harvey and other international speakers as though my life depended on it. All I wanted was positive vibes. I knew that for my life to change, I needed to change my mindset. I haven’t stopped. I also bought books and read, and today, I have at least 200 books that I still refer to and reread when I need to.”

Nelly says her parents who were both teachers have been instrumental in shaping who she is. With a demanding career, time planning and management have helped her balance motherhood and her job.

“I have had to have a discussion with my children on how to spend our weekends. We have mama’s weekend, where I go out with my friends or I go riding with other biking groups. We have a movie weekend where we go to big screen to watch a movie together/pizza weekend, then we have a swimming weekend and lastly a stay-athome weekend when we do thorough cleaning together. We have our family meetings every Sunday evening to talk about the week and what we are grateful for, our expectations and what we need to improve on,” she says.