When Beatrice Mangure decided to return to Kenya after a successful career in the United States, she had no idea she’d be spending her latter years in a single-roomed house in Kenya, barely making ends meet each month.
Her terrible story began after her marriage ended in Kenya, prompting her to travel to the United States for a fresh start.
Mangure was born and raised in Embu before moving to Nairobi to attend college and eventually landing a position at a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), where she met her spouse.
They fell in love instantly and married shortly after.
During their six-year marriage, the couple had two children, and the family decided to start a business to prepare for their financial independence.
“Since we were starting a family, we decided to start a business which he was to run. I went to my place of work, took a loan and brought to him to start a business,” she said in an interview.
Mangure claims that shortly after, her husband terminated their marriage in order to marry an illiterate lady. He supposedly settled down with their housekeeper.
To cope with her heartbreak, Mangure chose to relocate to the State of Georgia in the United States and start again.
“It was one of the hardest times in my life. I underwent a lot of pain and it was traumatising. I got a visa and flew out of Kenya to start a new life in America
“Life was not easy in America. Life was hard and you have got to work. It was not a joke. Since I left my family in Kenya and had left a family to support and had bills to pay in America, I worked very hard,” she said.
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After working a few jobs, Mangure decided to try her hand at entrepreneurship and start a catering business. Her speciality was Kenyan food, such as chapatis and mandazis.
She worked hard for ten years to build her business and loved the results. She bought an apartment and had two automobiles.
“I worked extremely hard at a local restaurant in Georgia where Kenyans residing there called me Chapati lady. After a while, I felt employment was not going to allow me to fulfill my dream so I quit and began a catering company called New Light Catering which focused on African cuisine, I sold mukimo, chapati, mandazis,” she stated.
However, Mangure fell three times while running her business, which took a toll on her health, prompting her to return to Kenya.
“When I relocated, I had carried all my stuff and put them in a container. I lost it all because it never arrived in Kenya. I lost things worth millions and I did not get anything. It was the most devastating time in my life,” she said.
When she arrived in Kenya, she picked up her pieces and chose to enter the business world by establishing a tendering company as a disabled person. She was, however, unable to obtain business.
Mangure’s sister then connected her with a friend, only for her to lose a million-dollar investment. She once invested with several of her church members, but she lost everything.
She also tried her hands in politics but was unsuccessful, forcing her to get into the taxi business.
