I married my partner hoping she'd provide for the family- says placard-carrying unemployed graduate

Photos of Patrick Muthomi, an unemployed graduate from Chuka University, carrying a placard in the streets of Nairobi; with his educational qualifications and phone contact listed on it, have been making the rounds on social media since Wednesday.

Efforts of the 28-year-old graduate from Chuka University, Kenya, seems to have paid off barely as he has received countless calls from potential employers who have promised to give him a job.

 

In an interview with eDaily, Muthoni, who graduated in 2014 said he married his girlfriend hoping she would get a job and provide for the family.

"I am married. My wife and I are blessed with a 2-year-old daughter. When I got into a relationship with my partner – back then, I was banking on her to get a job and provide for the family. I wasn’t sure who – between her and I – would get employed first. But things did not go as we had expected. She, just like me, did not get employment,” recounts Mr Muthomi.

Muthomi further narrated to eDaily how immediately after graduation, he got a job as a business teacher at Mwiga SDA Secondary School in Nyeri where he worked for five month. He left his teaching job, hoping to find a well-paying job as an accountant in the capital Nairobi, where he’d relocated together with his wife and toddler.

 

More than a year later, his dream has not materialized yet. The competitive nature of city occupants has locked him out of employment despite sending nearly 200 resumes to different organisations, all of which he has never gotten a call back.

"I left Nyeri to come to Nairobi with big dreams of getting a well-paying job. Little did I know that getting employment in Nairobi is never easy compared to other cities. I have sent more than 200 of my CV’s with no responses,"  he says.

With employment dreams quickly becoming a far-flung mirage, Mr Muthomi resorted to hawking tissue paper and serviettes to provide for his family. But the meager income was not enough so Muthomi had to look for a job that would pay well. He spent Sh1200 to make a placard that would advertise him to potential employers.

"Reality dawned on me Wednesday morning that I need more money. After much thinking, I decided to make a Sh1200 placard that would highlight my plight, at the same time sell my qualifications to any potential employer who would be moved by my effort. I have explained my sorrowful stories to many company executives, but none has considered employing me," says Patrick, whose ambition is to become an accountant  

"Although my biggest problem is finding a job, my mind is still telling me that Nairobi is the place for me to grow in my career as an accountant. For me, Nairobi is the hub of employment," he concludes.

Source: eDaily Kenya