ROSE THE SHINING VICTOR

By Annelyn Barbara

Rose Chebet is a teenage girl from Toro farm in Trans-Nzoia County. She comes from a family-of-five -three girls and two boys. What you do not know about her is that she managed to escape from being circumcised as the Kalenjin culture, which she hails from, demands.
At the age of 13 years while in primary school, she was to undergo female genital mutilation and be married off to an old man. But at this age the only thing Rose needed was care and education.
Preparations for the cut underwent so well that the only thing that remained was for Rose to be circumcised the next day. But Rose did not want to get circumcised, so on the eve of her official ceremony she ran away with the help of her brother who believed there is more for her than just being circumcised and married-off at a tender age. not knowing where she is going. It took her three days to get out of their village, during this period she survived on people mercies and help although not all were friendly so she had to survive on her own.
She survived on the streets with only food and water from people who sympathized with her, sometimes instead of getting help, she only got questions which at that time she did not need because she was running for her life.
Rose being who she is, she did not give up at all she continued with her journey and her endurance paid her. She met a very welcoming woman whom she narrated her story to and the woman told her, there is a rescue center in west pokot where girls like her age are taken to school and everything is catered for.
At this point this is the only hope she had for securing her future. She joined the center and true to the woman’s words, she was taken to school and this rescue center became her second home. Rose really her for running away and not getting married as to their customs. This made Rose so sad but for the sake of her safety, she made the rescue center her second home.
Rose, continued with her education and was able to finish secondary school under the care of the Rescue Center. She is a very lucky girl because after finishing her secondary school education she was able to join a mentoring program sponsored by world vision for six months. During this period Rose gained life skills, Entrepreneur skills, Digital and computer literacy. That was not all, Rose had mentor from the United States of America called Janani Vasudean who played a great role in Rose’s life and career.
Rose did not stop there, after the program, she joined Nairobi Railway Training Institute where she pursued a Diploma in Travel Tourism and hospitality management. As we are talking Rose is a graduate, whose dreams could have been shuttered by cultural practices and could have been married off at a tender age to an old man and could have been a mother by now.
Rose is a true definition of what girl power can bring in the society, empower a girl and let us kill the absurd culture and customs in our communities.
Rose believes, ‘when you empower girls you have empowered the whole nation’.