Name: Ruth Mungai kang’ong’oi Professional Title: Freelance Journalist – East African Region Email: karuthum@gmail.com/ karuthum@yahoo.com Skype: rkangongoi Cell phone: +254 722 897 904 Introduction Do you sometimes sit down and ask yourself, “What the hell am I doing here?” or may be how on earth did I get here?” When we are kids, we always have a certain plan or dream of what we want to become when we grow up though we either loose or follow these dreams along the way. One author said that “Dreaming is recognizing and embracing the potential for greatness and seeking it in all areas of your life. Believe in your dreams and your ability to accomplish them. Keep your dreams in front of you. Never forget, if you can dream it, you can do it! I was born in 22nd April, 1981 in Nairobi Kenya. My Dad was a teacher and a pastor and my mum a house wife. I spent the good part of my childhood between school and the church. I am told that I have never been the shy type and thus my mum always said “these brave genes belong to the media industry.” I must say these words sunk into my head and yes since I was young, my dream has been to be a News Anchor. Shallow. Right? I had a problem explaining to teachers who could not understand why of all things I wanted to be a journalist and not a Pilot, Doctor, Lawyer, an engineer or take up any other “worthwhile” career. FACTS A worthwhile career I found, an opportunity in the fashion industry early 2004, Beak Creations, here I saw the conception of a regional sales base and engineered a competitive public relations strategy to capture EAC exclusive offerings. While flirting with copy writing assignments, and public relations challenges, my journalism passion fired on and my search was conceptualized, it was then that I joined the East Africa School of Journalism., this became the wake of my beginning to the future. My first foray with journalism was in early 2005 with Taifa leo, a product of the Nation media group. Here, I wrote features and Human interest related articles in Kiswahili. In early 2007, I joined Sudan development Trust. Here I their product “ The sudan Mirror” writing advertorials and features for the country and the people of South Sudan. That assignment was a unique one, a challenge to explore Sudan and the region as a whole. It is here that I was first exposed to writing outside the box, away from home and soon it became another long affair that I would love and passionately pursue. My now grown regional contact base and desire to fully engage the newly created EAC block, I ventured into Kigali Rwanda. Barely a month in I started writing for the New Times as a full time reporter an assignment I would hold for more than a year, while contributing and editing the Rwanda Districts Business Directory. Human interest, social and cultural features had by now become an art I could pride in, Rwanda proved a profitable avenue to launch my own public relations firm, and hence Conceptual Creations was borne, mostly to address a need that my clients were eager to see me fill. During my intense coverage of Rwanda I was contacted by VPRO Dutch National TV, to be their correspondent, armed with undying passion and dedication to deliver a story that would bear positive change, I walked into my first screen- my TV debut. In my time I have chronicled spectacular news and feature stories, ranging from human interest to social cultural and news firsts. Presently I am a VPRO Dutch National TV Rwanda correspondent, and an active contributor and writer in many publications that include property zone magazine, CIO East Africa magazine, Nation, Africa News. Perhaps my success in my journalism is borne of my fierce determination and extreme romantic passion to share my experiences, and drive to understand everything around me. My hope is that my story and my readers expectations can somewhat converge in a unique delivery, so that a shared understanding will prevail. STILL TO COME Today, I am not on your screens at prime time, as I would have wished, but my written stories still flow into your living rooms and offices, am virtue as am print but I am here. So tomorrow if you do not see me on your screens, as you wait because I will come, read, and read more of my work and let’s together build an informed society.