By Sr. Agnes Njuguna, L.D.S.J
“What if I die here?”
“Lord, I only want to return to Kenya alive,” Nia whispered as tears streamed down her face.
The story began in October 2019.
Nia, whose name means a woman of purpose and determination, was busy doing her
household chores when she heard an advertisement on the radio.
“Change your life today! Are you looking for a better future? Secure a well-paying job in Saudi
Arabia.”
“This is my chance to change my children’s lives,” she said to herself as her thoughts ran to the
two children she had worked tirelessly to educate. Her eldest daughter had just completed
secondary school, while her son had finished primary school but could not join secondary
school because of lack of school fees.
Born and raised in Nderi, Kiambu County in Kenya, Nia had married the love of her life, and
together they were blessed with three children. However, neither she nor her husband had
stable income and life was a daily struggle. The financial pressure had slowly driven her
husband into alcoholism.
Two days after hearing the advertisement, she travelled to the Manpower Reliance office in
Ngara, Nairobi. Finding many other hopeful applicants reassured her that she was making the
right decision.
She enrolled for a two-weeks training course at a Tourism College in South C before moving to a
hostel in Limuru for one month as her medical examinations and travel documents were
processed. She frequently returned home to cook, wash clothes, and check on her children
before going back to the hostel in the evenings.
On 31st December 2019, at the age of 43, Nia and seven of her age mates left Kenya for
greener pastures. It was her first flight. As the aircraft rose into the sky, she whispered silent
prayers through tears, believing she was flying toward a better future.
A new year, a new country, and countless dreams awaited them. At Riyadh Airport they were
welcomed and dressed in black trousers and white T-shirts with bold red lettering. After
refreshments they boarded another bus for a long journey. Friendships formed along the way,
and upon arrival they embraced each other with hopeful hearts as each traveler departed with
a different employer, before disappearing into separate futures.
“Nia,” a voice called from the darkness.”
Fear gripped her as she followed her employer to his car. After driving through a large gate into
a beautiful compound, she was warmly welcomed by an expectant lady and her two children.
The kindness eased her fears.
The first months were encouraging. Her employer treated her well, gave her gifts, and paid her
salary on time. However, loneliness, homesickness, the unfamiliar language, and the harsh
climate slowly weighed her down. Worse still, she was made to work in both her employer’s
home and her mother-in-law’s house while receiving only one salary. Summoning courage, she
reported the matter to the recruitment office and was transferred to another employer.
Her new workplace was completely different. The family lived under a roof filled with bitterness
rather than love. Her female employer, a doctor battling depression, was married to an army
commander. Their five children lived in constant fear.
Soon COVID-19 struck, and everything changed. Salaries stopped, movement was restricted,
and Nia was trapped. She had no documents, no freedom, and every request required
permission. She feared the family’s huge domesticated monkey, was sometimes locked alone in
a BnB, and was forbidden from speaking to neighbors.
One day the commander came home carrying a large gun and placed it on a table. Moments
later, the youngest child accidentally discharged it while playing.
“What if I die here?” Nia whispered as tears streamed down her face.
Later, her employer led her to a cupboard filled with guns, knives, and other weapons and
instructed her to clean them. Her hands trembled. Her prayer changed. “Lord, I only want to
return to Kenya alive.”
One afternoon, after taking out the rubbish, the gate locked behind her. Forced to use the
neighbor’s entrance, she discovered that the neighbor was her former employer and the two
were brothers.
At the gate she inquired about a lady named Lalian, but received only hesitant responses. Fear
overwhelmed her. She recalled the commander bringing home a huge black paper bag
containing fresh meat that had been locked inside a separate refrigerator. Her mind raced. She
couldn’t shake the fear that something terrible had happened to Lalian.
Desperate to escape, she secretly messaged her family and friends in Kenya asking them to pray
for her. Unfortunately, the commander caught her and confiscated her phone.
The following morning, she deliberately pretended to fall while cleaning, hoping she would be
deported. Instead, she was chased out of the house and forced to live in a tent outside. With
only two months remaining on her contract, she clung to hope, but the commander forced her
to renew it. Months passed without communication with her family despite interventions from
his own relatives.
In Nia’s mind, she became convinced that he intended to kill her and harvest her liver for his
sick mother. When all hope seemed lost, prayer became her greatest strength.
Eventually the recruitment office summoned the commander, claiming Nia needed
documentation. There, she discovered that her family in Kenya had been desperately searching
for her. The officer secretly held her back and convinced the commander that she was too sick
to return with him.
Her prayers had finally been answered. Her ticket home was processed, but she had to
temporarily put up at a hostel because she had not received the COVID-19 vaccine. She had no
phone nor money until a ‘good Samaritan’ helped her contact her nephew, Simsim, who sent
KES 15,000 for vaccination expenses. Some SAR 100 given by one of the officers helped
complete her travel documents.
She had left home chasing a brighter future but as her plane landed in Kenya at exactly 3:00
AM, there were no celebrations, only a weary woman, grateful just to be alive, carrying
invisible scars.
Today, Nia believes every migrant’s story is different. Some find kind employers, while others
face exploitation, unpaid wages, mental torture, or even death far from home.
At 50 years old, she continues to care for her children and her bedridden husband through
casual jobs. Though work is often scarce, she now treasures the blessings she once overlooked:
the warmth of family, the peace of home, and above all, the beauty of freedom.
“Do not be blinded by the promise of greener pastures. Prepare carefully, verify every
opportunity, pray without ceasing, and never take the freedom you enjoy at home for granted,”
she warns.