Professor Esther Ndumi Ngumbi featured in NPR (opinion; Washington, D.C.) on the role her mother played in life and career.
"I want you to study hard so that you can rescue our family from poverty. Your father and I are poor and the only gift we can give you is an education. You are intelligent. Rise up and make your lives meaningful. I gave birth to you and I know you have what it takes to make it in life. Work hard my children."
When I was a little girl in Kenya, hardly a day would pass without my mother repeating those words to my four siblings and me.
Because I was a child all I wanted to do was play hide and seek and netball. So her words fell on deaf ears. When she told us to work hard, we played harder.
But my mother meant what she said. Anytime we were caught playing and not working hard at homework or chores like washing clothes and fetching firewood, she would punish us. I wish she did it differently.