Concilia Owire, Kenya’s first female locomotive driver won the 2023, My China Story Speech competition.
Owire beat other contestants to scoop the coveted award on Friday, October 13. The 29-year-old works as the Assistant Manager and Passenger Locomotive Driver at Afristar Railway Operation Company.
The second prize winners were Gisemba Gloria from China Road and Bridge Corporation and Jeanne Ong’iyo from Moja Express Way.
How She Ventured into Locomotive Driving
Owire got a scholarship in 2016 from the China Road and Bridge Corporation, a subsidiary of the Fortune Global 500 company China Communications Construction Company, which enabled her to advance her education.
“You can just imagine the excitement I had, this was gonna be my first time in China, so I was all over the internet just searching about China, their transport network, I really was looking forward to it,” she stated.
She completed her studies and returned to Kenya just in time for the launch of the SGR on May 2017.
Owire’s first assignment was unforgettable as former President Uhuru Kenyatta was on board.
“When I was appointed to drive the train, I was so happy, yet so nervous, because my desire of being the first Kenyan female locomotive driver was dependent on it and every Kenyan was looking forward to see the operation structure of this new technology,” Owire said.
“But I endured it, because I knew this was my moment. When I stopped the train safely at Nairobi terminus, I actually cried, I knew I did it, I made myself proud, my country and my instructors were proud of me. That moment will always be engraved in my heart forever,” she added.
