I Worked as a Cleaner Even with My Degree: Kenyan Man Narrates 'Horrible' 5-Year Stay in the UK
In 2009, George Mathenge, a teacher in Kenya, traveled to the UK to pursue his masters at the University of Leicester.
Like many Kenyans who move abroad, Mathenge had hoped that he would settle there after graduating, start a family and advance his teaching career. However, Mathenge says his life in the UK was never a bed of roses from the moment he landed there and although he persevered and completed his studies, it did not take long before he decided to return to his motherland.
Soon after he arrived in the UK, he realized he could not join the University of Leicester despite having an admission letter. He could not afford fees.
“I needed Sh2 million to pay for my fees. I only had Sh60,000. I did not go on a scholarship, but I was determined to make it. I had to get the money and survive because I would not have imagined going back,” he said in an interview on Daring Abroad show by Alex Chamwada.
Before he managed to enroll for his masters in the University of East London Campus, Mathenge was forced to accept any job that came his way including cleaning jobs. This is despite holding an undergraduate degree in education from Kenya.
After graduating, he began teaching in London in what he describes as a horrible experience and was also uncomfortable with the way parents raised their kids in the UK.
With this experience, Mathenge says there was no way he could start a family there and his only option was to return home after a five-year stay in the UK, a decision he does not regret making.
Mathenge, who came back in 2013, is the current principal of Brookhurst International School in Kajiado county.
“I wished that I would become a teacher because so much of what has helped me to be upright and positive in life was instilled by my teachers,” he said
He advises Kenyans who have established a good life and career within the country not to bother moving abroad, where the grass is not always greener. “If you have started a good life here, just continue if you have an opportunity to go there and improve yourself, do it but know it is not easy,” he says.
Comments (87)
Mathenge - you have a very bad attitude in general about the things you had to do to get your education! What is so bad about working some cleaning jobs in a country that you did not have the legal rights to work?
Many Kenyans do menial jobs to pay for their education and also meet their daily expenses in foreign countries!
You should be telling your students that you were able to achieve your academic goals by doing whatever was necessary to earn your way through the graduate program. We see the kind of your attitudes perpetuated by higher level students in Kenya because they think that certain jobs are beneath them!
Your silly and stinking attitude made your 5 year stay in England “horrible” because you apparently wanted to be handed everything in a silver platter!
The kind of attitude you are reflecting here is not a good one for someone who is a teacher! I’m surprised they selected you to be the principal of that school!
Please free your mind from the ignorance and prejudices of your youthfulness and understand that men are required to work hard to earn lasting life experiences! I won’t want my son to be taught by you. I don’t feel sorry for you!!! Wow, what a teacher!!??
He has a problem but now he is a big shot... I worked at Taco Bell, truck stop etc etc ... For me l am grateful for the great country of United state of America. Its not perfect BUT look at our own country kenya... Still with 51 yr of independent and still we are even more backward than when we were colonized. NOTE l am saying we be colonized but oh boy African we have a problems, stealing BUT we have potential to be great... Look like Equity run and one of the greatest Bank, Safaricom.... So we can if we stop stealing and believing in ourselves. And for a president to sleep on a job and wake up and want to get projects completed in 2 years and now blaming a small group of individual of derallying his projects... Blame game and will not get us anywhere.
@liz - there is a lot progress that has taken place in Kenya in the past 58 years since independence!
Yes, there are things that could have been done in a better way but still Kenya has the largest economy within East Africa. The road network is passable, The railways are transporting people and goods. The air travel is available.
I agree the level of corruption has increased dramatically but still Kenyans are working very hard to move ahead! I can go on and on with mentioning the great progress visible in Kenya.
How long have been living in America? Take a trip to Kenya once the coronavirus goes away and see for yourself. You will be surprised and nicely amazed!
@Sally... Thank you I have been home and what you are calling progress to me is not progress but l know my Kenya have potential to be the greatest country in Africa. Kenyan are hard-working individuals but what l was against was that mathenge man narrates 'Horrible' 5 years in UK and wondered what he expected and l think got carried away and went on to touch on failures we have in kenya but when we go to this countries we start narrating stories that do not hold waters NOTE some not all and we should be Thankful when doors open and we go to this country we are able to achieves our goals though this people employing us and getting scholarships to go to school and if not scholarship we work and we pay our fees which in kenya it can be hard. I know you mentioned on The road network, railways are transporting people and goods ... Wish can get you an article by a Senegalese who clearly outline how that shouldn't be a priolity but first secure a healthy country making sure we are secure in terms of food and systems are working. In Kenya and Africa in general... its backward...
@mydearliz - Jesus Christ gal, what did you study in America? Your english is quite classic; very antique-like in nature! Did you take TOEFL and the basic freshman English 101?? What do you do in Kenya?? I am aware English is not Swahili, but gal, you surely can butcher the written English language!
I was dissecting through the paragraphs until I encountered priority! Sarcasm
@Sally. This is a forum for thé valuable exchange of ideas. Let’s keep this trivial comments out of it.
Ok pretty Grace! What valuable ideas do you have? Lag them out so others can benefit from them!
Sarcastic-She has been there and her English is horrible. Mathenge is right, Kenyans expect good jobs when they travel majuu but shocked when they came to reality!
Leave the Senegalese guy alone. I regularly visit his country and you cannot even come close to compare Senegal with Kenya! Senegal can only be compared with Sudan. It is a dirty place to be!
My reaction =whoa, ignorance is bliss
@ Sally we should not be where we are . In 1963 Malaysia was the same level with Kenya until 1969 when Jomo Kenyatta became a tribal overlord. Today Malaysia is 2nd world Kenya 3rd . Railway Sally the railway proceeds go to the chinese . chinese run SGR the Kenya machinist pay is peanuts compared to the chinese ones and the chinese find them inferior just as their salary says . the contract for the chinese to run the railway was to pay themselves for loaned money and if it doesnot chinese will take over plus . they wanted to take the harbour but Japanese refused cause they partly financed it. Is this the progress in kenya Kenya wealth is only by 5% Kenyans the marjority are living under 2 usd per day . today we are still talking of our tribe affliation instead of one people. i have not seen improvement in way of doing biz we still sell in the streets no proper market and hygiene . today as i write Kenyans are eating poison. farmers no longer pay for weeding they use chemicals they use chemicals for everything for boosting growth and ripening .I dont know one single commercially grown foodcrop that is not being poisoned. There is no check same with mild raw milk is being treated with chemical to make it last more days . why do you think there are so many cases of cancer. Corruption is another issue if you want to go to college or get a job mostly back door is used . i can go on for ever but i conclude by saying Kenya failed state and will remain so until voters start voting differently
@loise - you are not trying hard enough to effect the necessary change. You seem to expect everything to come from the government. Kenya shouldn’t be a welfare state! You seem to expect too much free stuff and that is why you are living a poverty stricken life. There are those things you can do instead of always expecting handouts to be dropped by your door steps!
First of all, don't call anyone poverty stricken when you don't even know him/her. Second of all, there are things we can't control like food sources because we have elected leaders to do that job. You could be the richest person in Kenya and still be feeding on poison because of poor leadership so this isn't a matter of rich or poor. Lastly, if you can't resonate with the problems we have as a country then you're surely part of the problem
When america was poor their people stayed there to build it no matter the situation. They stayed with their 19th century and early 20th century poverty, disease pandemics, wars and many calamitiies a poor society faces. If they ran away from their problems to successiful countries to only criticize it america could still be thirdworld and i guess if that is the case you wouldnt be there. Running away from your country and starting to critisize it without offering any solution is like moving to your rich neighbours house and staring to critisize your family how they sleep on the floor and with empty stomachs. Do you think your neighbour will see u as a hero who overcame challenges to run away to his house??? You are the people who make whites think all of us still walk bare foot without food.
I guess when you say a lot of progress has been done since independence you meant progress on CORRUPTION and the continued STUPIDITY of the kenyan masses.
You say Kenyan is the biggest economy in E. Africa. Seriously? How can we feel good comparing ourselves with war torn countries, terrorists infested nations, countries gorvened by dictators, countries whose economies are the worst in the world! And you think we deserves a pat on the back and feel good that we are much better than them?
We should be comparing ourselves with countries whose economies were the same level as kenya during independence. You know where those countries are right now? Not In the 3rd world category!
Tell me, which state owned industry that was established during independence still exists? Politicians embezzled so much, none of these industries EXIST in 2020!
Can you imagine if the cotton, sugar, pan paper, fishing etc industries were still here? With our ever growing population, hardworking Kenyans, who are ready to work, how many people would be employed in these industries right now? How many more industries would we have right now?
Politicians fell our own and are now importing & supporting foreign economies in the 1st and 2nd world. We have enebled these looters by continually thinking along tribal lines and voting these thieves into office time and time again.
You say that roads are passable? To where exactly? What's the point of constructing roads just to cruise around poverty stricken counties? What is a good passable road helping a slum dweller or a hunger stricken Kenyan in the village? What people need is employment. Good roads are good. Period.
State Owned/privately owned enterprises, industries, access to entrepreneurship funds etc things that offer long term employment and favorable conditions for business minded Kenyans to start and own business is what we need!
We have had 58 years. 58! Dubai is what it is in just under 25 years after the discovery of oil. There was a time we were at par with Argentina... Look at them now.
Kenyans should stop equating maendeleo to passable roads.
Have you ever visited or been treated in a public hospital? No meds, no medical supplies, buildings so old and dusty you're better off going to a small private clinic down the street.
Kenyans are hardworking and ready to work. What we lack is unity and exposure. We go back to the same cycle every 5 years. We have a toxic relationship with the politicians. We are there enablers!
I always tell my friends Kenyans are like that abused spouse in an abusive relationship. He/she gets beaten but still goes back hoping that their abuser Will change. And you know what? The abuser doesn't and will never change. The choice is to either know he/she learns their worth or continue to be abused.
Well, do something to make things better for the masses you call “stupid”! They should Nyorosha your skinny ass for foolishly insulting them! Domo bila vitendo!!
@ sally you are the one using your behind to reason ! shame on you or do you eat with them . You are the reason Kenya will never mature . shame on you again
Your problem is really quite big! Your laziness has rendered you to be expecting free things from the government. You expect others to work but fir you, oh no you just want to look pretty and just complain.
@loise - you can’t reason laziness! That is exactly what you promoting here! Get out there and do something and stop complaining over things you have failed to do. Do you expect Uhuru to come to your house to grow Waru, matharu, nyanya, mboga, etc so you can feed yourself! Uhuru can’t be the husband of every lazy woman in Kenya. Get your long nails dirty and do something. Don’t even tell me you have no land! Lease a 1/8 of an acre to grow food! And test don’t tell me you live in Kawangware! Move back to your village where people work to earn a living!!! Gheee!!
@sally should not get ashamed telling you the truth. Remove the blinders in your eyes and get to work! You sound like the unthankful Principal here. Stop complaining over idiotic laziness. Do something to better yourself!! You whine too much like a bitch!!
@ Thuraya - preach and sing the choir but go out there and do something to make a visible change! Don’t tell me it cannot be done because of what..........????
You voted, right!? Which thief did you vote for and for what office? @Thuraya - your talk is cheap; very cheap indeed! What have you done to bring positive changes except running your dirty mouth? Your all time high blane games will not change anything! Change begins with you! Tell the people why you have done to make things better! You must be a mwalimu too! Are you?
Sally, I don't know where in Kenya you live, but majority women and little girls carrying heavy pails of untreated water on their heads all day long is not progress. People dying in floods and/or losing property along small streams and creeks is not progress. Frequent power blackouts and using dangerous latrines or pooping outside is not progress.Schooling our kids under trees and poor hospital services are not progress, 57 years into independence. We might have the biggest economy in East Africa, that's like saying you have an inheritance in a poor household. So, we need to push our leaders to do the bare minimum of their jobs which is to stump out corruption, land grabbing and provide infrastructure like dams, water sanitation and treatment plants and power to help people create and run businesses to create jobs with no corruption.
Then organize your community and dig a borehole to get clean water. Then buy pipes and supply water to every house. That will solve the issue of women carrying jugs in the head! Also talk to your area leadership and ask them w he ere is the CDF money! That is a good place for you to start. Do you not have a local Chief, MCA, MP, etc! And where are the men (husbands) to help the women with carrying the water!! Stop complaining if you have used all the resources available to you! And by the way, I live in Kisumu!
do you live in Kenya. It looks like you are new there or you have not being paying attention. People can't put food on the table. That is the bitter truth. I have a PhD in mechanical engineering yet I couldn't secure a job and you want or convince me b of progress. My sister that is difficult
Why do you need employment if you have a PhD? You should be using that genius to make things! Or you just want a white color desk job?
@kamau - you are asking others to come feed you while I believe Kikuyus have the largest tracks of land in Kenya? You even have no shame saying you have a fake PhD and you can’t even be resources enough to make life better where you are? You must be a very lazy kikuyu man! Come to the RV and see how hard kikuyus work. Wow, a PhD expecting handouts?? Please don’t tell the world you got a PhD and you are hungry! You are embarrassing yourself! PhD is what? Queen’s English language? Just go sleep hungry with your PhD on the mud hut walls!!
So many cars are broken on the road sides and a guy with Mechanical Engineering degree (PhD) is unable to fix them! He is talking about hunger while free jobs are staring at him! @kamau, please give up your name. Not a Kamau now complaining about food!!!! Your people feed the world! The whole wide world!! What happened to a Kamau!? I humbly ask?
Surely - I must confess your English can only be understood by the queen of England!! Wow, very educated indeed! You live in north America or South America? Nice!
I am also wondering the same.
Really?! The USA? Which language were your studies conducted in?
The studies were conducted in Tugeni!!
Well said Mr.Kinyua.I am a nurse in the Us, after working as a nursing assistant for a whopping 10 years, and I don't regret. Prior to coming in yhe US, I was a lecturer at the kenya College of communications Technology for many years. But I cannot start bragging that I can't do this or that because I am a kenyan trained electrical engineer. That's bullshit.
I earned my MBA in finance working menial jobs in a foreign country! Yes I went there on my own volition and I knew it was not gonna be easy.
Having a degree should not exempt you from doing whatever kind of job(s) to achieve your higher education.
Stop telling and misleading the youth in Kenya that working dirty jobs to earn a graduated degree is wrong! Did you expect the Queen if England to hire you as her Butler straight from Kenya??
You went to England with only shs 60,000.00 expecting to earn a shs 2,000,000.09 college education!? You needed to clean many toilets to survive! It is just normal to do so. Give me a break!
You have a pathetic mind set as a teacher of young children! Should I call it some type of colonial mentality?? Did you expect the brits to educate you without paying anything? What a shame!!?
Mwangi, why have you captured my name? Mwangi is already taken. Call yourself Meangi2 or something like that.
Just like me, when too many guests appeared, ... hahaha, good one! Well, I noted his Mwangi starts with capital M and yours is not, maybe that is the distinction?
Sir! Mr Principal! What was so wrong with you working as a cleaner to earn you graduate degree? How horrible is that while you still achieved what took you to England?
I’m very surprised you call your good experience in England a horrible thing. What were your expectations before you left Kenya as a young lad to go to England? Just curious to know from a principal teacher?
And many of us have done menial jobs etc while earning our degrees, big deal
Wonder he wanted to become headteacher right away
He is head teacher now; called Principal! His dreams have finally been achieved! So, he now has Maine’s to clean after him. Just like the colonial masters did to ordinary Kenyans!
A pathetic principal teacher with an arrogant attitude from hell!! I’m surprised you got your graduate degree with the kind of negative attitude that you have.
So, did you expect stuff to be given to you freely? You are the first kikuyu I have ever heard complaining about work; and I surely got many hard working Kikuyu friends!
Is this dude for real!? What a loser in life!! Many have done those cleaning jobs to pay for their education in foreign countries!
Please stop telling people about cleaning work like you are damn too good for it! What else did you do in England besides complaining?
Hope you still empty your trash can in your glorious principal’s office! Let me not see any child in your school coming to clean after you bwana boss man!!
Mathenge - who cleans you dishes, house and clothes in your house? Your enslaved wife and the poor kids? Tumua kanua ta itina ria “Thenge” if you don’t have anything better to say! You are very weak!!
What kind of graduate degree that took you five solid years to finish?? Medicine?
It took you the time it takes to finish up the 4 years of undergraduate and one year of graduate work!
You must be a very lazy man! No wonder you had difficulties in England!! And where did you live there? In Camden area?? That fits your attitude in general!
I can’t stand a whining kikuyu man! God help this man to grow up quickly! He is a big kid supervising other people’s kids with all the wrong mentality about life! Work never kills any body. Indeed, you are required to work you spoilt brat!!
No body forced Mathenge to do any kind of work to include cleaning! He had no choice because he was not a British citizen to take up academic loans and grants! His complaining here is childish and immature in nature! He should have done more public toilet cleaning to earn his living. And what did he learn from the nice experience?? Nothing!! Otherwise he would not have been bitching about it!
Did Mathenge go to England expecting to get his education without working?
Mathenge sounds like he failed to understand his predicament in a foreign country - a mama’s little boy for sure!!
Give him ndanuko cia mitahato to make him happy!! Stop a shaming your mother with baby complaints!
There is nothing wrong being a cleaner even if you hold a PhD, could be your side hustle. You will be surprised the qualifications of people who drive Uber especially in the United States.
It depends what kind of degree.