Nakuru Woman Struggles to Rebuild Life After Returning From Qatar Job

Naomi Mugure, 27, is homeless and struggling to support her two young children after returning to Kenya from Qatar, where she had worked as a security guard. 

Despite helping to build a permanent house for her mother with her earnings abroad, she now lives in temporary accommodation in Naivasha. Naomi left school at 17 after feeling uncomfortable studying alongside younger classmates. She moved to Nairobi in search of work, but her early experience in the city was difficult. 

A man who had offered her a place to stay assaulted her, and she became pregnant. With few alternatives, she later married in the hope of creating stability for herself and her child. Within a year, she had a second child, which increased the financial pressure on the family.

In 2019, Naomi began pursuing opportunities to work overseas. By 2021, she had secured a job in Qatar as a security guard, earning 1,200 riyals, about KSh 42,500 per month. She used most of her income to support her family and to help construct a permanent home for her mother. Within two years, Naomi and her sisters completed and furnished the house.

Her situation changed in 2023 after she resigned from her job. She said she had been promised a promotion to security supervisor, a position that would have doubled her salary. The promotion did not materialise, and she was left without work. 

A later job ended in a dispute with her employer, which led to a court case over alleged desertion. She was detained in a deportation facility before being sent back to Kenya.

After returning home, Naomi found she had no stable place to live. She said she could not stay in the house she had helped build for her mother and instead moved between temporary living arrangements. She is currently staying with a person she did not previously know in Naivasha while trying to find work and support her children.

Many leave Kenya seeking better incomes abroad and send money to support their families or invest in property. However, when employment ends unexpectedly, some returnees struggle to rebuild their lives without savings or stable support.