You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you - John Bunyan.
These are the words that best define Lucy Ngema's life, a former high school cateress who started a children's home in Kenya after working in Jersey Island for years.
Speaking to Alex Chamwada's Daring Abroad, Ngema revealed that she runs a children's home, Jersken Little Angeles in Joska.
She explained that she started the home in 2013, to make a difference in the lives of others just as a man unknown to her did to her more than two decades back.
"I started the home back in 2013 with three children, now I have 17. Four girls are in secondary school and eight more will be joining high school next year," Ngema explained.
In 2000, Ngema would not have imagined that she would have such an impact on society. She had graduated as a trained chef from Kenya Utalii College and was new to the job market.
"I was trained as a chef in Utalii. I worked at USIU as a catering manager then moved to Juja Preparatory and Senior School as a cateress.
"An opportunity came for Kenyans to work in Jersey in the hotel industry One of the hotel owners here went to Kenya on holiday and was impressed by the service," she recalled.
The owner then liaised with the immigration department to allow Kenyans to be given permits to work in the country. Once that was agreed upon, he returned to the country and kicked off the recruitment process.
However, like many fresh graduates, she neither had a passport nor the funds to buy her ticket to the island despite excelling in the interview. These costs were made by the entrepreneur.
Ngema then left for Jersey Island and narrated how the move opened up more doors for her life.
"I got a three-year visa which allowed me to fly in my spouse and children. Two of them are working in finance and one of them now works in the healthcare sector," she noted.
However, she explained that she worked a lot of hours and unlike back home where, as a chef, she was entitled to several assistants, she did most of the work alone on her own.
After five years in the hotel industry, fueled by the pay disparity margin between locals and expatriates, she decided to change her career path, a decision that paid off.
"I got a job with the government of Jersey as a Healthcare Assistant. The perks were great including pensionable income and a seven-week leave," she intimated.
Muge explained that her new job entails looking after people with special needs and learning disabilities.
