Dear Family,
My name is Esther. I am a 27years old (female) Kenyan student. Although I currently live in Nairobi, where I just completed my undergraduate studies in Education at Mount Kenya University, I actually come from Kisii. Compared to Nairobi (which is Kenya's largest city), Kisii is a small town (approximately 112000 inhabitants), and is situated on the south western part of Kenya. I come from a family of 11: My Dad , is a retired Kenya policeman and my mom Joyce is self employed and runs a small grocery store in Kisii. I have 2 sisters ,1 nephew and 4 nieces . My eldest sister Maureen, is a secondary school teacher in Nakuru. My younger sister Nancy is a sales executive for one of the most prestigious companies in Nakuru. My nephew Jeremy who is 9 years old is in grade 4 and my niece Brigit is in grade 3 , Gian grade 2, Ashley grade 1 and Jewel is still a toddler.
In about a year or two I plan to pursue a masters degree, but I am yet to make up my mind concerning my future area of specialization. So, at the moment, I would like to take some time out of academics to have a different life experience, and to have time to calmly reflect on my future academic/professional orientation. To this end, I think spending some time in abroad would be particularly interesting.
My first language is, of course, Kiswahili, and I am also fluent in English. I started learning English in primary school, and it was also the language of instruction in the secondary school I attended. I have in addition been taking courses taught in English at university. I speak an intermediate level of French. I begun learning it in high school and have been taking French language classes online for the last two months. Am also interested in learning a different language.
I am nevertheless aware that learning a language within a classroom context is by itself, incomplete. So, in order to really be at ease in any language, I feel that a cultural immersion would do me a lot of good.. I am particularly interested in experiencing family life in abroad, since it offers a cultural context that is undoubtedly different from mine. For this reason, I would very much like to find a nice family to live with and work for in abroad.
When it comes to child care experience, I have looked after children in both formal and informal contexts. Last year, as part of my university studies in Education, I spent a three months internship working as a teacher. Among others, I provided after-school tuition to children aged between 5 to 10 years. I also organized for them and took part in recreational indoor and outdoor activities: we sang, danced, played games, role played, drew, painted, and narrated stories. We also visited the public library, the local animal park, went out on picnics and a camping trip.
I have helped my sisters look after my nephew and nieces since birth. Although my looking after them is now restricted to my university vacations, as a teenager, I was nevertheless much more involved in caring for them on a daily basis. In addition, my nieces, also spend a lot of time playing with our neighbour's children , so from time to time I find myself in their ever animated company. I can comfortably say that I sincerely enjoy spending time with children. When it comes to leisure, I take pleasure in the simple things in life. I enjoy being outdoors, being with my friends, going for walks, visiting places I have not been to, and reading a good book. I also enjoy painting and on dull or rainy days, I often propose drawing and painting activities to my nephew and nieces and our neighbour's children whenever they come for company. Did I already mention that I love to read and write? At my university, I used to write a monthly article, for the students' magazine. I also served as an editorial committee member for the magazine.
As far as preferences are concerned, I am looking for a live-in arrangement with a host family, that would be happy to have me stay with and work for them for at least 12-24 months. I would also prefer looking after children aged between 6 months to 15+ years. Lastly, although I am quite flexible, I would prefer to have working hours that would allow me to attend day time language classes I would be happy to have the opportunity to speak with you: to answer whatever questions you may have about me or my childcare experiences; to learn more about your family; your interests and to know more about what you expect from the au pair arrangement.
Thank you very much for your interest in my application!
I look forward to hearing from you.