I carried my life in a paper bag.
Then built everything back.

At 21, Elizabeth Jumah landed her first job at Unilever. It was the kind of achievement that makes a family exhale. She rose quickly – and within two years had become Ambassador of the Unilever Foundation, travelling to India and working alongside 2.5 million farmers. The future looked exactly like she had planned.

Then at 23, she was retrenched.

One day she had a career. The next day she had nothing.

She made a decision: she would not go back to employment. She would build something of her own.

What followed was years of trying. Over ten businesses started and let go – Uber services, car hire, fashion blogging, jewelry making, magazine publishing, a cleaning company, agribusiness, snack distribution, bookselling. One by one, they did not work.

With nothing left, she returned to Western Kenya. She carried what remained of her life and told herself it was a fresh start.

And then she built.

Elizabeth founded Stery Supermarket and Bakery, which today employs scores of young men and women in her community. After three years of rebuilding, she asked herself one question: “How can I give back?” That question changed everything.

Today, Elizabeth is the Executive Director of Wema Bukembe Development Organization – a community development NGO serving over 5,000 people in Western Kenya. She is the Charter President of the Lions Club of Bungoma and the founder of DNAlife Organization, Kenya.

She is also writing her first book. “I Wore Gumboots to My Front Door – The Long Middle: What It Really Takes to Rebuild a Life” is coming in 2026.