Cyprine Omollo Full Episode

Cyprine Omollo 

Specifically, why I do this work that I do, I have a passion for the young people, I have a passion for women who have been through the criminal justice system. I feel that that is where I feel alive. I'm making a difference in the lives of these women and the young girls. I feel so alive. And I'll do this at any given time.

Paul Meunier 

Hello, I'm Paul Meunier, the executive director of the Youth Intervention Programs Association. And I'm a youth worker at heart. How lucky am I? I have the privilege to meet youth workers from around the globe and learn their stories and share them with the entire world. I'm glad you're listening because together we'll learn how their life experiences shape their youth work. As you listen, I encourage you to consider how your experiences shape what you have to offer young people. Welcome to this edition of The Passionate Youth Worker. Hi, everybody, today we have the privilege of hearing a heart wrenching yet inspirational story from our remarkable guest, Cyprine Omollo. She is joining us through the magic of technology from Nairobi, Kenya. In this interview, we'll explore Cyprine's transformative journey, a life altered by a series of traumatic events that led her to prison. Now, as a program lead for Clean Start Africa, Cyprine focuses on empowering young women and girls who, like herself, have committed petty offenses. As we dive in, we'll learn how she has turned her life experiences into a mission of helping others. I believe we'll discover the resilience and determination that defines her and the profound change she brings to the life of others. So, get ready for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation with Cyprine Omollo. I'm excited to introduce her to you. So, let's get going. Cyprine, are you ready to get going?

Cyprine Omollo 

Yes, I'm ready, Paul, to get going.

Paul Meunier 

Let's go then! I'm excited to share your story. But let's start with your childhood first. You describe your family as being very stable, and with a strong extended family. To start off with, can you share one of your favorite memories of your childhood?

Cyprine Omollo 

Okay, so one of my memories, one of my favorite memories of my childhood was that I grew up in a family of four, and my dad and my mom really took good care of us. They insured we had education. And there was a lot of stability in the family. I never saw my dad being abusive. So, that was a good thing in the family knowing that most families there's a lot of abuse, especially in Africa. But that didn't happen in our family. We had a good education, me being a first one in a family of four. I saw my dad provide and ensure that we got everything that we needed at all times. So, I grew up a happy child. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

That's great to hear. And what is it about your dad that he wasn't abusive when many other men, it sounds like in Nairobi, are or were? What is it about your dad that he was able to not be like that?

Cyprine Omollo 

We have very good, where we have very strong family and Christian values. So, being brought up, my dad also being brought up in a Christian home. And he never went to church as much. And even if he took, he drank alcohol, I never saw him being abusive to my dad. So, I believe the fact that our family and my grandparents, they were people who believed in God and practiced Christianity. This is one of the things that made him not be abusive to my parents, and even to us. He corrected us with gentleness. And I must say that growing up, my dad never beat me. He's never hit me, but he corrected me with love. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

That is a great story to hear. And what did that mean to you as a young girl, that you lived in an environment where your family was so supportive? And your dad was different than a lot of the other men? How did that shape your life?

Cyprine Omollo 

So, I've grown up to be very focused and despite the challenges that I had, and even the Bible says that teach your child in the way that they need to go and they will never depart from it. And even when things went, didn't go right in my life. I was able to come back to the right path. And so, having him as a father figure, somebody who I could look up on to, has enabled me to be a very focused person. And I think he's one of the greatest cheerleaders of the work that I do. He really supports me. He's unwell now. But he really supports the work that I do here. He's very proud of me. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

That's great. And what was your mother like, was she also very supportive of you, Cyrpine? Did she encourage you to do well in school and to be a strong person?

Cyprine Omollo 

Yes. Now on the other side, my mom was strict with me. And I think maybe she just wanted me to shape up straight. So, she made sure that I was on the straight and narrow all the time. And looking back at that time, I felt like she was a bit high-handed. But when looking back, I think that she just wanted the best for me growing up. So, she was always there, making sure that homework was done, making sure that schoolwork was done. And when I got to high school, I saw her play a key role in ensuring that even she chipped in to ensure that my school fees was paid. So, both my parents played a key role in molding me into who I am today. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

It's wonderful that you had such great parents. And it's clear that you took that opportunity and became a very giving person yourself and willing to do things for other people like they did for you. So, you're paying it forward. And that's very nice of you and wonderful to learn about. But you've had some struggles in your life, and the people who know you best describe you as resilient. Why are you so resilient? What, why have you had to be resilient?

Cyprine Omollo 

So, I grew up, I went to college, studied animal production, which I don't practice anymore but studied animal production. Along the path, I met my husband. And unfortunately, when we met he was sick. So, he had a heart condition. And being that I was in love, I thought that this will work out. Somehow, we will get through this. Unfortunately, he became very sick. And two years into this marriage, we had to do two major surgeries. One surgery cost me about that was around $6,000. And the other one cost me about $150 USD. And that got me into debt because I became the sole breadwinner. And in between we had a child. We had, my daughter was then born during that time. So, being the sole breadwinner, I was trying very much to provide for my family, just to make sure that they had all that they needed. And I think it was just the way I saw my mom and my dad do to ensure that this family stays, they are provided for, they have all they need. Unfortunately, that got me into debt. When it got me into debt, I started looking for ways and opportunities to increase the income so that I can be able to take care of my family well. Unfortunately, I met a lady who conned me. She gave me this very beautiful business deal that I bought into. When I bought into this business deal because I'm an unknown production person. And I wasn't, at that time, I was actually working in an international organization that was dealing with research in animals. So, I thought, let me do this business with this lady. Unfortunately, she conned me of about $300,000 that I had borrowed and $300,000 Kenya shillings of my money that was about in total economy of about $6000 USD. That was very difficult time because my husband is sick. This lady has conned me and run away so I can't find her. It became very difficult to go to work. So, things started going downhill. So, I lost my job. The person I owed the $3000 USD took me to court. So, I started a court case. Through that court case, there was this investigative officer who was very corrupt, kept asking me for money and I kept giving in hoping that we could hold this case as I look for solutions. That didn't happen. And I think I really got tired at one point, and I just decided, okay, fine, whatever happens happens. Let everyone know this is what is going on. In Africa or in Kenya being brought strong women, most of the time, you don't want to show that your family's falling apart. And I was just trying to keep it together just to make sure that everybody thinks that we are doing okay. Yet, things were not going okay. So, the man I owed took me to court, and I was taken into prison. I managed to pay this man $2000 US dollars, which is $200,000, Kenya shillings. And during that time, when I paid him, I told him because I'd already lost my job, I told him, if I could be able to, he could give me time, so that I pay the balance of $1000 US dollars. Unfortunately, that didn't work. And I had to spend time for six months in prison because of 1$000 US dollars. But the beautiful part is that even as I sat in prison, and during this time, and I thank God for family again, because my sister was able to take my daughter, and that was not women go to prison with their daughters or their children. My daughter was then four years old. I saw women serve time with their children. My sister took care of my daughter, therefore, I didn't go to prison with my child. So, sitting there, I saw the challenges that these women who have been put in prison went through and many of them they were quite petty offenses, like selling liquor, cooking without a license. One which is so crazy is loitering with intent to commit adultery, which you don't even know what that intent is. What measures that intent that you intend to commit, commit prostitution? Sorry. So, having seen that, that sparked something in me because they were young girls and and that is when I knew that there were rehabilitation centers that had young girls. There is a brothel institution that houses girls. It is from that that I knew that they were all these challenges. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

My goodness, what a story, Cyprine. I'm so sorry that you have had to endure the tough situation of losing your husband, falling in debt with medical bills, losing your job, having to spend time in prison, and being away from your young child. And yet, when you went through this experience, you didn't fall into despair. You somehow found motivation how you were going to help other people? How were you able to avoid feeling so angry and upset and sad or whatever those negative emotions might be? How did you stay positive and decide this life experience is meant for me to help other people?

Cyprine Omollo 

Thank you for saying that. Because I lost it all. I lost my husband, I lost whatever possessions I had. I lost it all. So, I went to prison. And I think many times I had crazy hope. There are times I was down. There are times I felt like I'm going crazy. There are times I felt like what will happen? But I had crazy hope. And one of the things that kept me going was I got anything, I read anything, any book, any old newspaper. There were days I sat perched on a blanket and reading anything and everything. And I kept saying they can lock me here, but they can't lock my mind. So, I kept reading. I just kept reading anything I came across. Yeah, so that is what kept me going during those six months. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

We have to just take a short break. So, when we come back from the short break, I have more questions to ask you about your remarkable story. So, we'll be right back.

Jade Schleif 

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Paul Meunier 

Cyprine, right before the break, I said I had more questions about your story and when you were going through this, were there people in your life you could've turned to? Did anybody have the resources to help you pay off your bills so that you could have avoided prison?

Cyprine Omollo 

Ah, as I said that you're trying to put a strong front to show that everything is okay. And I found it very difficult to go and ask and especially back to my family. And after all, they're the ones who still came to my rescue when things went bad. So, I felt like I could not go back to ask. One thing that is that I felt that my family had done too much. My mother was not very rich, we come from a stable family. But my mother and my father were not very rich. So, I felt like they had sacrificed so much for me. Yet I had been a letdown. So, going back to them was something very difficult, to say, Please help me sort this out. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

What a strong person you are, you're able to endure all this for the sake of not having to put your parents out or to do more than what they've already done for you. Very noble, very humbling, on some level. So, how did you cope with the death of your husband? Were you in prison when he passed away?

Cyprine Omollo 

No, I had just left prison. And I came back and on the fifth of March 2013, he passed away. I think I was emotionally tired. I didn't want to take in any more. I think there was just I had been through so much. No job. No, nothing, no house. No money, then death. I think for me, that was just it. I was through so much. And I think I went on autopilot for some time. I didn't want to think about that death or anything. I have healed over time. But during that time, I don't even know how I coped. I can't tell. It was just on autopilot. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah, I can imagine so. And you're so impressive to me that you were able to endure all this and then turn it into something positive. And I know that you are now working and have worked for many years, trying to help other women and young girls who also experienced petty offenses and to help them not have to go through the things you did yourself. What has all that you have gone through taught you about yourself that you now understand about other young people who might be experiencing similar things?

Cyprine Omollo 

One of the things that I've learned about people who are in prison, let me say, because these are the people I engage with every day, is that even if you've come from a family, and you are driven, and you want to achieve certain goals, then as an individual, you don't have to stop to be a young person. If you don't have to stop being a child, I started feeling like because I'm telling you we came from a humble background, I started feeling like I had to take responsibility and take care of the home. But the children need to be given time to just be children and to live their life until they are able to reach an age where they can now be adults. So, I have learned that and one of the things that we give an environment for the young people to just be themselves. Most of our programs are quite engaging in terms of we ensure that the young people have fun and give them an opportunity to just be the young people they are meant to be. And not to feel like they have responsibilities to take care of their parents or their homes. Knowing that some of the young people we deal with actually come from child-headed households because I'm telling you these families are dysfunctional. So, just giving them that opportunity and platform to be who they need to be at that time. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

That's beautiful. I'm so glad you're doing the work you're doing. I certainly believe you are making a big positive impact on a lot of the young women and girls that you work with. Do you think if you hadn't had to endure your life experiences, prison, the death of your husband, all those kinds of things, do you think you'd be doing this work today? Or are you doing this work specifically because of all those things that happened to you?

Cyprine Omollo 

I'm doing this work because of what happened to me. As I told you, I did animal production, but I hated the job. Maybe I'll be doing something else, I hated the job. I really didn't like being an animal production person, taking care of the animals and all that. I always felt like I had been called to work with people. And so, I always felt like I'm in the wrong place. So, maybe I'll be doing something totally different, not animal production, but something different. But specifically, why I do this work that I do, I have a passion for the young people, I have a passion for women who have been through the criminal justice system, I feel that that is where I feel alive. I'm making a difference in the lives of these women and young girls. I feel so alive. And I will do this at any given time.

Paul Meunier 

That's the kind of spirit and attitude that is so needed in the field of youth work, to have a passion and to be emotionally and 100% socially committed to helping other people. And you certainly do that. What do you think you're especially good at in working with young people? What do you bring to your youth work that is just you, that you are especially skilled with?

Cyprine Omollo 

I think over time I have cultivated a niche. When I work with young people, there is a certain transformation that I feel that just excites me. Making sure that these young people do not, it's not about the big things, it's about celebrating the small milestones that they make. And that is something I just make sure that whatever little thing they grasp, and they're able to use that for their own benefit. That excites me. So, when I'm taking them through a class module, and I just see them light up because they've seen something, they've understood something, they have had a different mindset. That just wows me because I know that is what we need for them to move forward. And we have a number of girls who are now in secondary education, girls who people didn't think will ever go through school, because they'd been through very difficult time. They're now in high school, some are finished secondary schools and are in vocational training, colleges. It's quite something, knowing that we inspire them to make a difference and to move forward to find hope, and to live meaningful lives. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

And one of the things that's so critical is to be able to establish a relationship with a young person and to know that they have developed a sense of trust with us as youth workers. How do you know, Cyprine, when you've connected with a young person and you can tell that they're putting some faith in you and trusting you? How do you determine that? How do you know?

Cyprine Omollo 

That's quite interesting, I think I have quite a number of stories of girls who I have worked with who I have connected with who have turned their lives around and now are doing very well. One of the things that happens is that when you get into these sessions, and the first time, you find that most of these girls really don't want to come close, there are those who will easily embrace the opportunity and begin working towards the transformation that they want. But there are those particular ones that you just feel drawn to. One of the things that I do when I feel drawn to some of these young girls, I just create a connection. And sometimes it's not hard, it's not easy. They will not give you eye contact, they will not want to be near you, but working towards building a relationship to a point where they trust you and you'll find that these girls are very brilliant. They are quite clever. But because nobody affirmed them, nobody told them they're loved. Nobody told them that you can do it. They believe that they can't do it. And once you start giving them that positive affirmation, you tell them you can do this. Yeah. And look at what you've done. This is amazing. You actually see them bloom into a totally different person. And from there you can now, they do exploits. We had one of the girls who we connected with in the rehabilitation centers in Kenya. The level of education is quite low. These children are eighty children. They only have two teachers. And they create, they're supposed to sit the same exam with children who are attending normal school. And one of these girls who we worked with, who has really made me enjoy the work that I do, out of 500 possible marks was able to get 354 marks out of that particular place where you think nothing good can come out of that. So, some of those stories really inspire me. And keep me going. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

Thank you for sharing that. And I am constantly amazed of the stories we hear on this podcast about people that have endured so much. And take that struggle and take that pain and turn it into something positive. And Cyprine, you are a classic example of somebody who has gone through terrible things in their life, certainly undeserving things that you've had to endure, and yet you turned it around and are paying it forward and giving it back to other people and taking the lessons you've learned to help other people avoid having some of the problems you had. So, on behalf of our listening audience around the globe, thank you for everything you're doing in Nairobi to help our young people because young people everywhere deserve people like Cyprine. So, thank you for doing that. And thank you for being a guest on The Passionate Youth Worker podcast. Before we go, I always give the guest the last word. What words of wisdom or inspiration would you like to leave with our listeners?

Cyprine Omollo 

The words of wisdom that I would love to leave with our listeners is that they should not give up and they should keep doing what they need to do. Out of the most difficult circumstances come the most beautiful and strong people who are able to make a transformation in this life. And so, our listeners should just keep going and going, they should not stop.

Paul Meunier 

If you would like to share your passion for youth work, we'd love to spotlight you as a guest. If you have feedback about the show, please let us know. Just visit training.yipa.org, that's training.yipa.org and click on the podcast tab. This podcast is made possible in part due to a generous contribution from M Health Fairview. I'm your host, Paul Meunier. Thanks for listening to The Passionate Youth Worker.