JOURNEY OF A PEACE WORKER

Introduction   When I turned 40, I started thinking about retirement. Even though I wasn't planning to retire early, I realized that I was only 20 years away from the mandatory retirement age of 60. Now that I'm 46, I feel like I've reached a milestone. I've experienced a lot of growth in my life, I'm financially stable, and I can do many things that I've always wanted to do. However, I'm also at a point where I'm caught in routines and can't do things as easily as I used to. I must balance many things in life, including taking care of my aging mother and guiding my children. Retirement is also calling, and I believe a job shift may be necessary. The truth is, I'm aging.   Changes in My Body A few days ago, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed that I'd gained some weight and my hair is thinning and turning gray. Even though some people say I still look young, I don't feel the same vitality I used to have. My memory is also startin...

The dark side of me is hard to define It's the part of my soul that I keep confined The part that I'm afraid, of what it might see The part that's alone, when I cease to be It is a monster, that I can't control A ghost that haunts me, deep in my soul That causes me to lie, and sometimes stray away  It makes me angry, and it is hard to beat I try to keep it hidden, deep inside So no one else can see, the fear that I hide But sometimes it escapes and shows its face And I'm left alone, in that dark, dark place But I know that it's there, and I must face it The darkness within, before it takes its place So I'll keep it in check, and keep it at bay And hope that someday, it'll just fade away.

My undergraduate degree is in Counseling, precisely BA in Counseling.  It is a career I pursued years later after my high school days.   In my early life, it never occurred to me that one day I would be a counselor or practice counseling as a profession. This is because, unlike professions such as law, medicine, and engineering, counseling has been viewed as a profession for the “less serious” students, therefore, the likelihood of getting a “good” job and a successful life career was not visible.  In addition, the existing perception about counseling is that it is, for example, for those people who are seeking a divorce or are going through life problems, or are mentally sick and is used as   a last resort. These perceptions made counseling a less attractive career to pursue. However, as I started my career as a development worker, and later as peacebuilding for the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), a faith-based organization...