My main reason for learning English is that I want to train as a midwife in the UK and then bring those skills back to Kenya. I'm twenty-six and at the moment I work as a nurse in a district hospital near Kisumu.
I actually studied English at school, like everyone here, but I only started learning it seriously about eighteen months ago, when I decided to apply abroad. That's when I realised that understanding English and being able to work in it under pressure are completely different things.
Now I study in quite a structured way. I do online practice tests most evenings after my shift, I listen to medical podcasts on the bus, and I meet two other nurses on Saturday mornings to practise speaking. We take turns describing real cases, which is great for vocabulary, but a bit stressful when someone uses a word you don't know.
This reason matters so much because of what I see every week. In our area, many mothers give birth with very little specialist support, and complications that could be managed easily sometimes become dangerous. I've seen experienced midwives make a huge difference, and I want that level of training. Many of the best courses and research papers are in English, and if I want to work safely in a British hospital, my English has to be clear and accurate, not just 'good enough'. In medicine, one misunderstood instruction can cause real harm. So for me English isn't a hobby or a nice extra; it's the door to the career I want and, hopefully, to helping women in my own community.