My name is Ruth Nyamgero, a graduate of B.Tech (Food Science & Technology) from the Technical University of Kenya (TUK). Over the last nine months, I have been doing my internship in the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development in the State Department of Industrialization under Research, Manufacturing and Industrialization Policy, under the Governance Internship Program (GIPro)

I stepped into my department on 18^th May 2021 with an expectation to learn how research is done in the ministry, how policies are formulated and to encounter various opportunities to stand up and be counted for godliness in the marketplace. My nine months in this ministry have given me an opportunity to work on tax exemptions applications, to attend an industrial week, visit an industry, have meetings with the Cabinet Secretary and understand government procedures.

The GIPro Program has not left me the same in terms of character, skills and knowledge for these have truly been worked on. I have learnt patience and forbearance. In this period there was a high temptation to quit or look for a job that could be well paying but I learnt to wait till the end as a way of staying focused on the goal. I learnt persistence. Calling partners to support and reminding them every so often was not a walk in the park. You needed to be persistent in working on exemption letters and going to work daily even on days you were not sure of your fare back home.

My prayer life has greatly improved. I literally had to pray to remain focused, to uphold integrity, to not be anxious and to be joyful and enthusiastic in the job even on days that my body felt otherwise. I had to pray for God’s provision. I really wanted a job at the end of the internship and so I had to pray that God would direct me and grant me favour with the people I work with. Prayer kept me going, I wouldn’t have pulled through without prayer.

In my internship I had a lot of time especially in the first two hours of the day to read the Bible and listen to expositions from the portions of scripture I was reading. This made me understand the Bible more and find ways of applying it in my daily activities. It kept me closer to God and shaped my actions greatly. This was complemented by the monthly leadership dialogues that would challenge our views on key issues like identity, justice and integrity.

My highlight in GIPro, especially my internship program, has been getting to interact with the “big” people in the government that fear God. I have experienced God’s favor in how I was handled by my supervisor, the people in my department and the Cabinet Secretary. I have learnt humility, diligence and excellence from them.

My experience in GIPro has left me with a deep longing to serve my country in the Public Sector. I want to uphold professionalism and be ethical in the public service (as stipulated in the public officer ethics act) and to be a voice of reason in the deliberations in Public Service, to inject the public service with godly values and offer transformational leadership, and to make a noticeable difference that will point people to Christ.