Radio journalist bounces back from heavy toll of double tragedy
Mercy Okuto, a Kisumu-based radio journalist, during an interview on Carwash Estate, Kisumu. Ms Okuto narrates how she bounced back after fighting depression and loss of job.
What you need to know:
- With a sickly father, she had to balance between doing her job and taking care of her ill dad.
- The twin unfortunate incidents of losing a dad and a job soon started taking their toll on her mental health.
Mercy Okuto, a vibrant radio journalist based in Kisumu, does her mid-morning radio show at Jowi FM, a Dholuo station.
Her skills and how she interacts with listeners make you think it is an easy job. From Monday to Friday, the 33-year-old journalist starts her show from 10am to 2pm.
Her show entails encouraging listeners to embrace and put effort in their workplaces and businesses. It is a job she has done for a year now.
Right after the midmorning show, she is free to engage in her online social media content promotion. However, her journey in the media industry has not been a walk in the park.
Sometime back in 2021, things were crumbling. Ms Okuto was working at one of the radio stations, still as a presenter for the mid-morning hour.
With a sickly father, she had to balance between doing her job and taking care of her ill dad.
“All my life, my dad has been my pillar. When my mum died in 2005, my dad played a major role in my life. When he fell sick in June 2021, I had to take some time off to take care of him," Ms Okuto says.
Unfortunately, the mother of three lost her dad to Covid-19 complications. That loss left a big gap in her life.
Mercy Okuto, a Kisumu-based radio journalist during an interview on Carwash Estate, Kisumu.
“With burial arrangements ongoing, the management at the radio station raised concern about my productivity. As soon as my dad was buried, I was served with a sacking letter,” she recalls.
For a week, she hid the news about losing her job to her family. Being the second-born, the family looked to her as their sole breadwinner.
The twin unfortunate incidents of losing a dad and a job soon started taking their toll on her mental health.
“I started living in seclusion. Generally, I am an outgoing person, but all of a sudden, I was in the house, not going out, not even church. Most of the time I had the phone switched off,” she says.
When the state of her mental wellness got worse, she developed suicide tendencies. On two occasions, she tried to take her life but didn't succeed.
“It reached a point when life had no meaning completely. Often, when I was riding on a motorbike, I would plan things that could trigger an accident to happen on the road.”
On those planned suicide missions, she would come out with minor injuries. However, her outcry on Facebook about her misery raised eyebrows amongst family members, who felt she needed help.
“Most of the posts on Facebook were just about giving up hope and ending my life. Looking back now, I didn't know I was slipping into depression.”
With the help of counselling and prayers in her church, slowly she started recovering. It took a while for the young journalist to get back on her feet. Necessity in need is a mother of invention. With Sh10,000, she started a food vending business.
Her focus was preparing African traditional meals and making deliveries. With vibrant social media marketing skills on Facebook and WhatsApp, her business soon picked up.
“I saw an opportunity by setting up a food kiosk outside Kisumu National Polytechnic. I would have the food prepared at home and serve it to students.”
From the business, she was comfortable taking care of her three children and supporting her siblings to school. All was well until the county government served her with evacuation notice over a planned demolition.
“Because the business was doing well, it happened I had invested much of my savings into the food vending venture. One fine morning, I was shocked to find the business premises brought down.”
With a collapsed food business, she was thrown into confusion.
“Demolitions hit me hard. I couldn't take it anymore. With the feelings of desperation, I left my children behind with my sister and left for Nairobi.”
While in Nairobi, she stayed at a friend's as she figured out her next move. Most of the time, they offered to do house chores for a small fee, just to survive.
But with the change of environment, she came across old friends who had ventured into social media content promotion.
“My friend and comedian Simmy Kenya introduced me to online social media production. I realised with a simple smartphone, a stand, a mic and mobile editing app I could produce content for social media platforms. That gave me hope.”
She added that with his friend, they would produce entertainment content for Luo artists. Soon, she started her content named Dare Life Media on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
“One of the people in the media industry who inspires me is Alex Chamwada, who left mainstream media to launch his TV product known as Daring Abroad. Transition back to the media industry excited me.”
In December 2022, she came back to Kisumu armed with skills in social media content production.
“I was comfortable with the new job. The production works picked up. I turned to covering weddings, funerals, bridal showers, baby showers and political events.”
Her work schedule is usually intense from Thursday to Sunday. With the demand for the works through the social media platforms, she has employed two people to help with shooting and production.
“Depending on the nature of the job, sometimes we hire equipment to do livestreaming production. Most of the time we need two still cameras, two video cameras and a Yolo Box and we set to work.”
With Jowi FM rebranding and coming to Kisumu, Mercy landed a job at the Dholuo radio station.
“A friend once encouraged me never to give up despite the unpredictable turn of things in life. When I least expected it, I landed a radio presenting job, which I love so much. That has not limited me to pursue content production.”
Through her social media platform, she has embraced charity in her community.
“With my networks and charitable organisations, we have left a mark in the lives of vulnerable and needy children, youth and widows. We have supported them through payment of school fees and building semi-permanent houses for the homeless,” Mercy concludes.
