After fleeing to the United States for safety, an HRB resident and former hotel manager discovers the satisfaction of caregiving.
George Kamau, 51, was not always an eldercare provider on Bainbridge Island with a dream of becoming a nurse. As a young man, he worked as an accountant, but worn down by the profession’s endless paperwork and lack of social interaction, he decided to study marketing. He soon found a job in hotel management and stayed for 20 years.
Until July 2023, George lived in his native Kenya with his wife and four children, but a real estate investment and subsequent ownership dispute led to threats against his family. George was attacked, and a brother, killed. George fled to Washington, where another brother had moved with his family before the situation at home turned dangerous. He applied for a work permit and found a job as a resident caregiver in an adult group home in Port Orchard. A new position at Bainbridge Senior Living meant he needed to find a place to live, so for a time, George rented a room in a house belonging to a colleague located in Bremerton. The 40-minute commute proved taxing.
Today he lives in HRB’s Dore Cabin, just a 7-minute drive from his job. “By the time I leave my place of work, even before the others are off the island, I am already home,” he boasted. The small cabin is just the right size for a man living alone. It is quiet, warm, and most important, safe. When he returns home from work at 11:00 pm and approaches his front door in darkness, he has flashes of fear. “What if there are people inside?” he wonders, but then quickly reassures himself, “America is safe.” He longs for his family, who must keep moving for their safety, to share this newfound peace.
At Bainbridge Senior Living, George works as a medication technician, overseeing a team of caregivers and delivering much of the direct care himself. The work is deeply satisfying and a welcome contrast to his former profession. “When you work in a hotel, you are working for [the guests’] money, but when you are working in a care facility, these people appreciate every small thing you do. They will thank you from deep down in their heart. That’s the best thing I get.”
“I grew up knowing how to take care of others,” explains George. His mother became depressed when he was 10, and so he and his six siblings cared for her. But his affinity for the work also derives from his Kenyan culture. “The way we are brought up, children always respect the older generation, whether a parent, uncle, or a neighbor. As long as they are older than you, even a brother or sister, we must respect them.” The older the person, the more respect they are given, and so George lavishes respect on the elderly residents at Bainbridge Senior Living and in return, he is adored. That affection, however, is often hard won and slow to develop.
Gloria, for one, would have nothing to do with George at first. She refused her medication and ignored his greetings, but he persisted. Silence turned to monosyllabic answers (“Fine.”) which turned to sentences (“I’m fine. What do you want?”), then came smiles and finally, tender admonishments (“Don’t stay away for long.”). But it was Edwina who planted in George’s mind thoughts of a career in medicine. He had been caring for a stubborn wound on her heel over a period of weeks, when in a moment of gratitude, she told him that he would make a good doctor. George chose nursing instead. He has begun researching programs and intends to start before the end of this year.
Just weeks ago, George accepted a position at a psychiatric hospital in Tacoma to be closer to his brother and his family. George will be missed… By Kitsap County, which like many parts of the country, is contending with an aging population and a shortage of caregivers. By Bainbridge Senior Living, which values its local employees, whose shorter commutes make showing up for work less vulnerable to traffic and weather extremes. And certainly, by Edwina and Gloria.