PROFILE: Dr. Ruguru Kimani gets candid on what next after Forbes list

When she was just a child, Dr. Joan Ruguru Kimani gave herself a mouthful of a nickname; Siddon Skippu.

So, on the first day of baby class, when the teacher was reading the register and called out the name ‘Joan Ruguru,’ she didn’t respond because “I didn't know who that was, my name was Siddon Skippu.”

Where did she get the name, you ask? “I don't remember, probably a movie or something, it just came from nowhere.”

But what Dr. Ruguru remembers with certainty is that she was a very curious and creative little girl, often restless and a little chaotic but always organized.

In 2020, she won the ‘Top 35 Under 35 Youth of the Year’ award in the Health Services category for her compelling phenomenal youth engagement accomplishments, particularly her exquisite exposition of child health and parenting issues.

A couple of years later, in June this year, she was featured on Forbes Africa’s ‘Top 30 under 30’ list; only one of four Kenyans who made the cut, among them U.S-based social media sensation Elsa Majimbo.

How Dr. Ruguru earned those two accolades is that, about seven years ago, she became curious and restless and so she started a company (initially just a blog) called ‘Exciting Parenting,’ which majorly offers education on child health and parenting. The reactions were massive, and so it took off.

She graduated from JKUAT with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) on June 28, 2022, during a ceremony that was primarily virtual, with only Ph.D students physically allowed at the grounds.

However, not only was Dr. Ruguru the only undergraduate student that physically attended the graduation ceremony, she was also personally invited to the podium by the institution’s Vice Chancellor, who called her an outstanding student; she also gave a speech, in front of the Ph.D graduands.

Dr. Ruguru recently turned 28 years old. It’s also now four months since she made it to the Forbes Africa list.

She sat down with Citizen Digital to talk about some of the adjustments she has had to make, what she thinks the future holds for her, and just how that curious and restless little girl with ‘big eyes’ that everybody used to tease made it.

Have you always had short hair or at what point did you make the decision to keep it that way?

I cut my hair in February 2017 because of decision fatigue, you know, when you have to keep deciding what hair styles you want to put and be unique; this time braids, then lines and locks and whatnot.
So I decided to go short hair because you will always look nice and presentable in this. That's why I cut it, and I'm not going back.

Are people all of a sudden now asking you for money because you were on Forbes?

They’re probably being decent enough not to ask me for money, but I have had to work on my image a lot more because now I'm representing an international organization of the elite group. So I've had to be very careful with my dressing and what I say, because now there are people looking upto me. You cannot be caught in drama or sagas making vile and inflammatory statements.

How did it feel giving a speech before Ph.D graduands?

Initially, I thought my seat was supposed to be at the back, but when I arrived and found it at the front with all the dignitaries and the big people, I had mixed emotions of fear, shock and excitement. But, as I was giving the speech, I felt like I was getting ‘the graduation’ that everyone wishes for.

I felt honoured and thanked God for giving me such an opportunity. Things went so fast for me within the month after the Forbes list came out, that for me to even get the opportunity to give that speech was incredible.

How long did it take you to write the speech?

It took me a day to write and edit, then I sent it to the graduation ceremony’s Speech committee and they sent it back having crossed a few t’s and dotted a couple i’s here and there.

On the graduation day, I made my own copies of the speech, printed it in those huge long A4 papers, that I intended to go read at the podium. But they told me ‘we don’t do that here.’ [Laughs]. Turns out they had printed the speech for me in these small, very pretty pieces that were even laminated.

What are you most certain about at this age?

That I will make an extraordinary doctor. And despite having huge dreams in expounding my clinical practice and career, I’m also sure that I’m going to be involved in bodies that advice and make policies in regards to health in the world.

What nudges at you at night?

The fear of failure. I’m really scared of failing and just disappearing through the cracks. Because I feel like I’ve worked so hard, and God has given me His grace and the opportunity to catapult myself, so I’m scared that I would let myself down and just fade into thin air.

How do you bring yourself back to sanity when you feel like you’re starting to lose it?

I go back to my diary and just look at my goals and visions vis-a-vis what I’m doing at that moment and see whether they’re aligned. Because sometimes things can get pretty exciting, especially with stardom, so I have to keep myself grounded and avoid being carried by the waves, and just know who I am.

I also hang out with my family when I’m overwhelmed, because when we’re together it just brings me back to the basics in terms of the person I actually am.

What do you remember about yourself as a little girl?

I was very curious and talkative. So each time visitors would come home, I would give them stories and then ask them very many questions. Dad had to, every now and again, keep telling me to keep quiet, because I think I was embarrassing him. [Giggles]

I also liked dressing up. Like, from even way before I was enrolled in school, my mother – who is a teacher – would find me waiting for her outside our home fully clad in my Sunday Best while she was leaving for work.

And then also my big eyes. They were a constant feature that were mentioned a lot, even by teachers. When people would give examples about ‘macho ya gololi,’ they would always mention my name in that conversation.

There’s a Luo Benga musician called Onyi Papa Jey, who praised his wife in a song, and in it he described her as having ‘macho ya gololi.’ In that context, the girl and my people took it as a compliment. How did you personally take it when people referred to you like that?

I took it as a feature of bullying. I was bullied a lot as a young girl. Let me give you a quick story:

This one time we went to a studio to take passport photos. Afterwards, one of the studio attendants came up to us and said ‘that small girl needs to come back in because amefungua macho sana so the photos don’t look nice.’ I went back in and they took another photo, but my eyes still came out the exact same size. I felt bad.

But, right now, I feel like my eyes are my signature feature. They encompass who I am, so I view them positively now, I don’t mind any remarks.

What did you want to become when you were growing up?

At first I wanted to become an air hostess. My cousin was an air hostess and she always looked good so that’s what I picked up.

But later on, when I was about six years old, my parents had this storybook custom-made for me. It contained the character of a little called girl Joan Ruguru, and she was struggling to select a career. So she was a different thing in every page; pilot, doctor, chef...so many careers, but I liked the page where little Joan Ruguru was a doctor and helping people.

That’s when I started to develop a thing for medicine, and I’m now living upto that little girl’s dreams.

What has changed in your life since the Forbes feature came out?

First of all, I moved out of home. I secured an internship slot at the Karen hospital. I’m working as a champion for AfyaRekod to push for better healthcare records for people. I have had a couple of speaking engagements in a few private schools in Nairobi, as well as some health talks in churches. And I also have an Executive Assistant now.

Wait, what?

Yes, I have an Assistant. There are a lot of things happening at the same time around me right now, and I only have two hands, so I kind of just felt like I needed help managing some of them, you know?

Not really. I don’t have an Assistant.

You have to remember that I’m a doctor first, so I’m mostly always at the hospital. That means that I’m unable to do a lot of other things; for instance, I post for myself on social media, but somebody has to manage the accounts, and set up photo shoots to keep my social media pages active. Or set up meetings with clients and media interviews. Such kinds of things.

And I have also learnt that I need to start taking my brand as a business, because you can be on Forbes list and just sit doing nothing with it, or you can take that opportunity and fly with it. So I have to take a lot of things seriously now because it’s a job, even my blog where we’re now also running a shop, so I need an Assistant to meet with vendors for that and whatnot.

What have these achievements, at your age, taught you about success?

That success is a very surprising journey, because I’ve been working on the project that got me to Forbes for seven years now. So success comes when you least expect it and when you feel like giving up.

Also, success comes when you’re ready. Thinking about it, if I had gotten on Forbes back then as a young girl, maybe it would’ve ruined me. But now because I’m older and probably more settled, grounded, and with more experience in life, I know how to handle the exposure that comes with success, and turn it into a business empire.

Another doctor friend of mine saw the photo we took together and requested me to ask you this; Are you seeing anyone?

Ha-ha! Ian, can we focus?

Okay, how about this, now that your career is already going so well, do you see yourself settling down sometime?

Yes, I plan to start a family and have at least four children.

That’s oddly specific. Why four?

Because then they will always partner up when they’re playing. I come from a family of eight, so even playing games amongst ourselves is easy because we can always divide ourselves equally. I want that for my children too.