Philemon Njoroge
A Walking Miracle
The story of Mary Wanjiru Njoroge
“Pombe ni nusu ya kifo”
Mary Wanjiru , shy at first ,an introvert, her beauty clearly evident but scarred by life in the harsh drinking and prostitution alleys of Mai Mahiu a trackers transit town in the rift valley.
She opens up, “Pombe ni nusu ya kifo” ( alcohol makes you a zombie) “ I have wasted 14 years of my life, I have lost my family and it’s only through prayers that am alive and HIV free”.
Early life
Mary Wanjiru has lived a life that is full of scars both internal and external, It is evident from the prominent scar that sits across her face. She got this particular scar from a misunderstanding with one of her drinking mates after the friend’s husband had sent her for alcohol but she was arrested with it before she could deliver it to them, when she tried to explain this to them her friend overreacted and slashed her face with a broken beer bottle. This is just one of the many stories that made up Mary’s life on a day-to-day basis in her 14-year-long drinking career, as she refers to it.
She hails from Mai Mahiu and is just 38 years old, but looks a bit older than her actual age. This isher third stint at Levuka Treatment Center. Her first visit was in 2018 and the second was in 2019.
Her “drinking Career” began in the year 2009 after her husband walked out on her and left her with three children and no means to support them. In her depression and confusion, she turned to the bottle and met a group of ladies who had the same interests. In a few months to come, she would become a regular at the infamous “Back street” which was a famous den in Mai Mahiu where Drunkards and Prostitutes hung out. She stopped recognizing which day of the week it was and nothing else mattered not even her motherly duties. She ended up losing her children after some time. She stopped going home. The Rift Valley Hope church came to her rescue for the very first time by taking care of the children she had neglected. A mother of three gifted children, her firstborn waiting to join university, while her last born in a prestigious national school.
Battle With Addiction
Pastor Isaac Karanja of Rift Valley Hope church whose mission, is to help restore and give hope to broken lives through the power and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ, brought her to Levuka all three times but not before the pastor had tried all other means of rehabilitation and failed. He had brought her to the Church and taught her and others how to make the traditional Baskets (Kyondos) which would be sold overseas so that they earn a living. He had also severally got her a house to stay in and paid her rent, the last time this happened was in 2015, she says that she ran away to Kikambura in Kikuyu town after she had met a guy at “Back streets” who became a close friend to her and used to work at Dagoretti gardens. She disappeared with him for six months before she came back. That was the first time she was brought to Levuka, after first being taken to hospital and doctors recommending that she stops indulging in alcohol completely.
Life at ‘Back streets’ wasn’t a smooth ride, you had to be a survivor or someone who really didn’t care much for living or dying. She says that among the many friends that she knew at ‘Back streets,’ there are only two who are still alive, the rest have succumbed to alcohol related deaths and HIV
AIDS which is very rampant in this area. Mary is very thankful to have survived the streets for all these years without getting the dreaded virus, she confirms that her recent test at Levuka confirmed that she was HIV-negative. In her 14 years living in the back streets of Mai Mahiu she has been beaten, stripped, and raped several times over , sometimes because of drinking too much, she would wake up naked without having a clue of what had happened to her. At times when she had the urge for alcohol and couldn’t afford it she would pay for it with the only asset she had, her body.
Hope and Soberness
Mary of today is a sober clean , well groomed lady, she was the lead singer for praise and worship at Levuka open family day event. She is extremely thankful to Levuka counselors for not giving up on her three times veterans at top rated the rehabilitation center , she gives her gratitude her Pastor Isaac Karanja of Rift Valley Hope church they never give up on her.