A 26-year-old woman from Nairobi who constructed a home for her parents in Kericho has described the financial assistance she received from friends.
According to reports by a local channel, Valentine Chepkirui said she was stranded on the official launch of the house until her friends came through for her.
“I had a few who knew I was building a house for my parents, but I had no money for furniture. So I created a WhatsApp group, and my friends raised KSh 250,000. Because of their help, we officially opened the house during Easter,” she said
Chepkirui disclosed that her idea to build a house for her parents came to her in 2019 where she had to choose between buying a car and building the house.
“When I went back home, I could not imagine parking it next to my parents’ dilapidated house. So that is when I decided to build a house for them.”
At this point, Chepkirui starting saving monthly for the project and approached her mother and elder sister, who agreed to chip in.
Construction got under way after Chepkirui and her sister decided on the specific items each would purchase and used KSh 200,000 from their mother’s pension.
Her sister lost her job after the COVID-19 pandemic hit a year later.
“By then, my mother was doing a casual job while my dad was not working. But I told them that we would not stop building the house.”
Chepkirui persevered despite having to construct and support three of her other sisters.
Three years later, the house was almost ready, and Chepkirui used the funds she had earned from friends to buy her parents a fridge, a microwave, and stylish chairs, among other home furnishings.
As the house was formally inaugurated on Easter, Chepkirui’s mother could not hold back her cries of happiness.
“We come from a humble background, and my mum did not expect such a thing would happen in her lifetime. I feel so blessed.”
She urged Kenyans who desired to construct homes not to pay attention to doubters.
“It is not going to be easy. When construction began, some people said we would not finish the project. Others wondered where a young girl like me found the money and falsely claimed I was dating a sponsor,” she said.
