A grieving Kenyan mother has opened up about the last conversation she had with her 23-year-old daughter Joy before the young woman died suddenly in Saudi Arabia, revealing that the signs, in hindsight, were impossible to ignore.
Joy, who was working as a househelp in Saudi Arabia, collapsed and died while playing a casual game of football with her employer’s young son.
The circumstances of her death left her family in Kenya stunned, particularly because those who knew her said she had no history of chest complications or any known underlying health condition.
The Final Days Before Joy Went Silent
Her mother described speaking to Joy on a Tuesday, saying she seemed perfectly fine. By Wednesday, Joy was no longer reachable by phone.
At first, her mother assumed she was simply caught up with work. It was only later that the devastating news came through.
Looking back, however, her mother recalled that Joy had, in the weeks prior, raised something deeply troubling.
Joy had been experiencing recurring nightmares that frightened her enough to reach out to her mother for prayers.
”She told me to pray for her, saying she dreamt of people trying to kill her and there was a time she said she found herself on the floor and once woke up feeling like she was being struck by electricity,” said the grieving woman.
Despite those disturbing dreams, Joy had reportedly made clear that her employer was a decent person who treated her well. She raised no complaints about mistreatment, and her mother had no reason to fear for her physical safety.
A Firstborn Who Carried the Family’s Hope
Joy’s journey to Saudi Arabia was driven by a desire familiar to many Kenyan families: the hope of a better life. Her mother noted that this was actually Joy’s second stint working abroad.
The first time, her employer failed to pay her, forcing her to return home. After some time back in Kenya, she made the difficult decision to try again.
”She was my firstborn. She went to Saudi so she can change all our lives,” her mother said. “I just pray that we can be able to bring her remains home so I can bury her.”
Joy left behind a five-year-old child, who will now be raised by the grandmother. The family’s immediate concern is finding the means to repatriate Joy’s body for a dignified burial in Kenya.
Her mother said she watched the video of her daughter’s final moments in disbelief, unable to reconcile what she saw with the healthy young woman she had spoken to just days before.
