Madam Raychelle Omamo please listen to my story

Someone wake me up from this terrible nightmare before I start screaming and  in my four-walled mansion! Raychelle, my dear, I wish you could just spend a day in my life, maybe, just maybe, you will understand why I have not been able to sleep after you decided to make me pay my domestic worker Sh10,954!

I live on the seventh floor in a bedsitter somewhere in Komayole. You know the place, right? My rent is Sh3,500 and guess what? Sometimes I have to duck from the landlord for not paying it on time. I work somewhere in Industrial Area. I make some of the human hair weaves that possibly grace some dignified heads on those special occasions. I have to report to work at 7am, that means I have to leave the house at 5.30am to beat traffic.

Okay, I lied. It’s not about traffic; all I want is to avoid paying more than Sh30 for bus fare. I have to save enough you know. Meanwhile, I barely sit comfortably in our state-of-the-art Forward Travellers matatu because of the mosquitoes and bedbugs that grace the seats. I also have to make sure I sit next to the entrance and have my exact fare just in case the conductor decides to ‘forget’ to return my change, or ignore my pleas to alight where I am supposed to.

Sometimes I am forced to alight way ahead of my stage because the ma-three was too full and I felt like I would suffocate. This means I have to walk a longer distance to work and I guess you know what happens to people who keep walking in the cold for long right? Pneumonia is not witchcraft Madam Cabinet Secretary, it’s real and medical cover is a dream to me!

I am paid Sh9,835 basic salary, which has to settle lots of bills. One of them is my domestic worker, yes, the one you have just told me to pay Sh10,954! Am I supposed to give her all my earnings and go ahead and even take a loan to top it up? I have a toddler in my house who will start going to school sooner or later.

I have never even managed to save a coin for her education because I cannot afford to save. Not when my husband has no stable job and keeps drinking those things the government decided to pour the other week because he is frustrated. With his Masters in Communications, the only thing he communicates with is his God when asking Him lots of questions. We are living in an era where people are overqualified and underemployed. At least I will not complain about myself, with my certificate in computer packages, Sh9,835 is not so bad.

My house is so small that you can reach almost everything without getting up from where you are. At night, it becomes a two-roomed house; all we have to do is place a bed sheet in the middle, that way, my domestic worker can have her room on the other side.

I have been wondering why I should pay her the amount you said because she eats, sleeps and get all her basic needs in my house. There isn’t much work in my house. At least I am sure she only has to clean one room daily.

If you succeed in waking me up from this nightmare, please have with you ten solid reasons why I should pay her that amount. If not, let me be Madam Cabinet Secretary. Komayole is very far from any hospital that can handle a serious heart attack.