DR. JOAN RUGURU KIMANI: Medical Intern and WINNER OF TOP 35 UNDER 35 Youth of the Year Award in Health Services Category

By JACKIE MBITHE

HCMEA: Give us a brief profile about you and a summary of some things that you'd like people to know about you.

DR RUGURU: I am currently practicing as a medical intern at the Karen Hospital. I also run a blog, called Exciting Parenting where I mostly write about child health and parenting. I've been writing for the last six years. I have grown up in a big family, I am the firstborn of six children. I consider myself half human, half amazing.

HCMEA: About your blog Exciting Parenting, when did it start and what gaps were you trying to fill in the industry?

DR RUGURU: I began the Exciting Parenting blog in 2016 to give new parents information about parenting and child health. Some of the things you see with children at home unless you are having a place where you're getting information, especially for first-time parents, it's very easy to make mistakes.

The beginning of the blog was through mentorship by one of my friends who is called Kimani Patrick. He is the CEO of Carlstic where he helps businesses to connect & engage with their stakeholders. I also get a lot of support from my mum and my family at large, who have helped me a lot with my blog content since I am not a parent yet.

My lecturers at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Dr Patrick Mburugu, who is also a consultant Paediatrician at Thika Level V Hospital, and Dr Justus Simba, who also acts as a consultant Paediatrician/ Respiratory Specialist, have also been very influential.

HCMEA: Are you able to tell the impact or quantify the impact it has had from 2016 to date?

DR RUGURU: It started as a free blog, ideally it was a WordPress site. With time we were able to move it to a self-hosted site, which is a bit more efficient. That was a milestone and had a big impact on me because most people end up sticking around with the free websites that are not as accessible and as versatile as the selfhosted ones.

I have also received a lot of feedback, so this comes as messages to my dm or people that, you know, look for me and reach out and give me feedback regarding the kind of change they've been able to achieve regarding their parenting and their child health.

Also, my numbers keep rising. People are reading and sending the link and articles to other people. Them coming back also shows that people are following up on your work and that they are enjoying and learning from it.

I measure, my impact not in terms of monetary gain because my blog is a pro bono project, I don't charge people to read my content, but seeing how much I have been able to impact people directly is what moves me.

HCMEA: Is running the blog a one-woman show or do you have a team that you work with?

DR RUGURU: I have a team. I'm the chief executive officer. I have two website managers who manage it constantly and make sure it is up and running. I have an editor who helps build up the content that I come up with. I also work with a tailor because sometimes we come up with merchandise for when we need companybranded clothes.

HCMEA: Are there any challenges that you have encountered while running the blog?

DR RUGURU: The first main challenge I experienced was convincing people and getting confidence from people that they knew what I was doing. People are very concerned about me not being a parent and being young. It was difficult to try and get people to respect me. That was a pretty big thing that people felt I was probably not experienced enough to give out such information.

But I feel like what I experience is not necessarily what you will also experience. What stood out for me is that I was having a lot of research, gathering a lot of information from different kind of people, and condensing it all together into one platform. I tried to create an SI unit of what I believe is the right way of doing things.

The other problem is having time to create content when I was a student since all the content that is on the blog, I write it myself. I had to ensure that I make time, make enough content, standardize my content, and ensure that people who come to read my work because of how I write keeps coming back. For me, time management and having that constant imposter syndrome of me not being sure about my content was a major problem.

HCMEA: And how did you work around it?

DR RUGURU: I worked around it by being very confident because I knew I was churning out quality content. Being consistent and feeding off my readers’ feedback helped me out.

HCMEA: You seem confident in what you're doing, like the speech you delivered on your graduation day in front of the PhD graduates. What are some of the insights you can share on the importance of being confident?

DR RUGURU: I feel like confidence is most times inherent where people are just naturally confident. But for most people, it comes from repeated self-affirmation, and repeated support from parents and teachers.

I was very lucky to come from a home where I was constantly affirmed and supported regarding what I was doing. For example, when I started my blog, I started it with KSh3000 (US$23.11) which I got from my parents. If I didn't have that KSh3000 (US$23.11) at that point, I wouldn't be having a blog six years later.

It reached a point where as an adult you also have to feed yourself with good energy like surrounding yourself with good friends who constantly help you pick yourself, and mostly also trusting in God. Because I believe some of these things you need, like you, need extra power, and am a firm believer in God, so you need extra power to help you stand in front of people, to help you read out your speeches in front of very many people on the television or like in my case, in front of Ph.D. graduates.

I believe as parents are bringing up the children. They need to support their children, they also need to give them social support, and take them to good schools. Also, research for content that helps you to become confident. Even if it takes you to consult a self-image expert, do it. Confidence is the key to many opportunities.

HCMEA: What can you say is digital space’s potential for the business?

DR RUGURU: We are getting to a point where things regarding child health and parenting were initially on autopilot mode. Nobody cared whether they need to seek professional help or seek professional advice or even lead and invest in parenting.

We're going with the trend where people want to do things right and seek help. People want to see therapists and doctors more concerning child health. People go to check-ups all the time. I think we will get to a point where the online space and regard to childhood parenting are going to grow very big. I'm very optimistic about the blog and how it's going to go and about us being successful when it comes to transitioning slowly into working with people in personal care.

HCMEA: In regards to digital space and digital health, is there a way that exciting parenting is helping parents to help children maintain a balance of how they use digital tools and also to maintain good health?

DR RUGURU: I'm a big supporter of children becoming exposed to digital content because we are getting to a point where a lot of learning is taking place through the online space. If it's a drawing children are drawing through online templates, if it is writing compositions they can learn a lot from the internet.

I feel like we're at a point where we can’t completely write off the digital platforms for children because we are seeing a lot of creativity in the online space. Their talents are being nurtured in the online space and they are doing their assignments online.

All we have to do is ensure that the children are well-monitored when accessing the Internet. That means even the timelines, and how long they are playing games. Games are good, but for how long are they playing that game? what game is it? If they are watching movies, for how long and what kind of movies are they? They need exposure to the online space, but we need to monitor what they're doing with the online spaces and for how long the activities are taking place.

HCMEA: Tell us about being listed on Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 DR RUGURU: The Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 came as a surprise to me. It is one of the things that you only see people get into, those goals that you always wish to reach when you get to such a point in life. Till now, it's still very surreal. Especially when I wake up in the middle of the night and remember that I made it to Forbes under 30.

It's good to see that my work which is full of consistency and impact was recognized in the international sphere, giving me more motivation, more encouragement to keep going on, and to keep helping people by educating them when it comes to child health. It was a dream come true.

I felt a shake and a break in the current market where it gives me a bit more recognition and I've been headhunted for a couple of opportunities in the country and globally. But according to how the medical profession works, you need to, first of all, finish your internship to be able to do things the right way. I'm glad that it's exposed me to greater opportunities and I can see the future will be very bright.

HCMEA: Are there any projects that you've embarked on since that moment?

DR RUGURU: I am actively working on taking my work down to the ground because I've been having my work online for the last couple of years. Am trying to convert my projects to have a direct impact and physical connection with my readers because not everybody has access to using the internet.

If I could be able to reach those in mashinani (rural areas) who are not able to have internet, it going to be good because some of these things, despite only talking about them, online you also want to show people and teach them practically. I am currently seeking funding opportunities to be able to expand my online venture into a physical and on-the-ground venture.

HCMEA: When are you planning to move to mashinani?

DR RUGURU: Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be having a solid plan and a solid structure around my work with people down the villages, with other professionals who are ready to offer their services to teach them and engage them.

If things and the stars align properly regarding the funding opportunities that I'm looking out for, I think I could be able to do it.

HCMEA: Are there any other expansion plans you have as a business? Are you exploring any massive collaborative collaborations? And have you identified any partners that you want me to partner with to ensure that your goal going forward?

DR RUGURU: We haven’t closed any partnership opportunity completely yet So there are no names that I can give at this point. But if the partnerships and funding opportunities come into play, we are going to do a very good job in Kenya and Africa.

The partnership or collaboration will entail funding to be able to expand and involve healthcare professionals in that exact space. Because we need counsellors, physiotherapists, other doctors, nutritionists, sleep trainers, and people who are going to help women in breastfeeding.

We need a lot of people on board to be able to guide parents on how to wholesomely bring up a child right. It's a structured program that would need a lot of planning and a couple of people on board.

HCMEA: Any other service that you offer except being a medic and a blogger?

DR RUGURU: I do mentorship because I know once a youth has a torch burning, you want to help others light their ways. I've been able to be involved in a couple of mentorship opportunities, be it the youth in high schools, in universities, or those who work. I also want to strengthen that aspect since that what I have achieved so far has helped other young people work on their projects, become confident and achieve good things