Betty Kilonzo has seen her life grow in the proverbial grass-to-grass manner. Just 2 years ago, the young woman worked as a construction worker fixing tiles.
The single mom would earn little wages that would prove insufficient to sustain herself and her family.
Today, Betty Kilonzo has matured into a beautiful air hostess who carries her work with such dignity and grace. The classy lady works with a regional airline.
Her work days typically involve flying in planes and helping flight passengers, a job that she says has made her more visible and connected to people.
Betty epitomizes the notion, “Our past does not dictate our future”. This goes to show the capacity humans hold for personal growth and the innate drive for a better life.
In an interview, Betty who dons different working caps, such as an airline attendant, sales representative, book author and an avid blogger says she started out laying tiles at construction sites.
Later, Betty secured a job as a saleswoman for a fabric softener. Her life-changing moment came when her friend informed her of a flight attendant vacancy at an airline.
Betty Kilonzo notes that her becoming a flight attendant was more of a fantasy than a dream that was too high to achieve.
“It’s like if you dreamt of being the president of Kenya. You may have the potential but it still seems too high a dream to achieve, right? That was it for me,” the lady stated.
Prior to her hustle in the airline industry, Betty had set her sights on becoming a writer, considering it a much more feasible aspiration.
Little did she know God had better divine plans for her life, which explains her enthusiasm upon receiving the news of her dream job selection.
Life as a flight attendant
Having been in the skies for over a year now, Betty attests that the uniform she wears gives her the satisfaction and fulfilment that she craves in life.
“Being a flight attendant has been the most fulfilling venture I’ve ever undertaken. I love being needed and having the responsibility to cater for another person’s needs,” she stated.
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Her flight attendant job has come with a range of experiences, some crushing and others inspiring, each leaving a mark in her heart and mind.
Among these, Betty recalls one time during a flight to Kakuma when a young girl aged 7 approached her to tell her that she looked incredibly beautiful.
“She then confessed that she wanted to become just like me when she grows up. She asked for a selfie. My tears welled up. I pray in my heart that she looks at that selfie and it reminds her to never give up,” the glamorous lady narrated.
On a different occasion, when they were picking up refugees from South Sudan, Betty recalls a young child walking into the plane barefoot but firmly clutching onto a guitar.
This proved to be a profound moment as she understood what it must have meant for the kid to flee from ensuing chaos & conflict with his musical instrument.
Challenges
Betty says that in the airline industry, one of the challenges of being a flight attendant is the vital importance placed on one’s appearance.
“It’s both a good and bad thing. I have seen people cut me off because they believe I am in a position to connect them to aviation jobs yet I am not doing so deliberately,” the single mom noted.
Other times, relatives and friends pester her and consequently dislike her for not sending them money, thinking she earns millions.
Additionally, her job has made it difficult to find an understanding and capable suitor, as most men would feel intimidated by her work life.
The mother of one shares that she has had to make significant changes in her home to align with her work schedule.
Overall, Betty strives to strike an equilibrium between personal and professional life.
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Her most valuable lesson in the profession is the importance of respect and effective communication.
“You have to be briefed and debriefed. It has made me a very accountable person. I like to make myself understood. I leave no room for assumptions,” she boldly maintained, adding that most love relationships die because of assumptions.
Besides her official job, Betty doubles up as an author and has authored a poetry book with Scholastica Moraa titled ‘This Heart of Mine.’
Furthermore, she loves writing and has authored another book titled Closure, which she says has resonated well with readers.
Her advice to those seeking to join the airline industry, she advised them to not shy away even if the opportunity seems like a distant dream.
“Never disqualify yourself. Apply and let them disqualify you,” she concluded.