A first-rate mathematician

Her efforts bore fruit in 2003 when she scored a straight ‘A’ in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) mathematics.

“But I got a B+ overall,” she adds with a look that suggests she would have wished to score all As.

Orphaned

Aged 20, she joined the University of Nairobi for her Bachelor’s degree in science (Bsc), majoring in mathematics.

Ironically, Idah had dreamt of becoming a nurse while in high school.

“There’s something about the selflessness that a nurse embodies which greatly moves me,” she says.

Things seem to be looking up for Idah, but her life took a nose dive in May 2005 when her father succumbed to a short illness.

“It was abrupt. He did not stay at the Kenyatta National Hospital for long,” she says with a trembling voice.

Two years later, in November 2007, she lost her mother to a road accident along the Sagana-Makuyu road.

“I was devastated, and felt as if the weight of the whole world was on my shoulders. At only 22, how would I cope? Who would pay my college fees? Who would see my sister through high school?”

These questions dimmed the light that had been shining in her life to a flicker.

However, her relatives came to her rescue, marshaling resources to keep both girls school. One of Idah’s aunts, Sarah, took her in.

Pregnancy and heartbreak

Things began to look rosy again when Idah fell in love for the first time in early 2008.

“He was handsome and generous and seemed to understand what I was going through. He gave me the reassurance I craved.”

But their days of coffee dates, sunny Sunday afternoon outings and movies at the Kenya Cinema came to an abrupt halt when she conceived.

She explains her reaction after learning that she was pregnant: “I was shocked and I went for a second test, even though deep inside I knew the first one was correct. I was worried about how I would face my aunt and tell her about it. How would she react? Would she kick me out?”

On the contrary, her aunt did not kick her out or harshly condemn her.