Dr. Mable Kipenda is an entrepreneur, medical doctor, and founder of Kambo Health Initiative, whose work sits at the intersection of purpose, resilience, and leadership. She is a Chevening scholarship awardee and a Mandela Washington fellowship alumnus. In recent years, she has launched and operated a physical shoe retail business, founded and registered a non-governmental organisation, mentored emerging professionals, and re-established strong professional networks across sectors. Known for her authentic storytelling and vulnerability-driven content, Dr Kipenda documents real-life growth, balancing achievement with challenge, while encouraging others to pursue purpose without waiting for perfect conditions. Her journey reflects a belief that success is not linear, but a mosaic of persistence, learning, and recommitment after disruption.
The past year was hectic! A year that started with enthusiasm and great resolutions: To read more, to write more, to stay productive, to stay organised, to stay healthy, and to relax was all I wanted to prioritise with no targets and no timelines set. I wrote these statements on my 2025 vision board. I had the same job as before, getting into my 4th year, so nothing to worry about work. I worked for a local organisation where I served as a cofounder. I was managing a USAID project. I was always excited about it because it kept me busy, away from my own thoughts. It kept me looking forward to the next day or to planning work trips across the country. I lived alone, so there wasn’t much drama at home, apart from the plants outside that needed a little TLC, especially the fiddle-fig leaf I had had for three years. I was set for 2025.
Three weeks into the new year, the US government announced its plans for funding cuts; I knew it was going to be bad, but not as bad as it turned out. A week later, I received my letter of termination from my workplace. I just lost my job. Instantly!! One of the biggest shockers in my life.
Then everything changed. I did not prepare for it at all. My busy workdays became quiet, had nowhere to wake up to. The noise in my head became louder. I asked myself a lot of questions, honest questions. It was a rollercoaster.
However, starting 2026 is a lot different; I know a lot more about myself, what I want, and where I want to be. Here I am sharing 4 big lessons I learned while navigating 2025.
How big is your network? I have learnt that you need to be clear about your network, your colleagues, and the people you know. Here, you need to take your relatives out of the equation. In the past years, I have confused these spaces a lot. I have thought that just because I interact with and know so many people, I have a strong network! That’s not true. While it is true that your network is your net worth, I have learnt who needs to be in my network. So, according to my experience, your network is not someone who views your social media status because you saved each other’s contacts, but someone who:
- Knows your situation, your ambitions, knows when you are struggling, believes in you, and will come to your rescue.
- Someone who will call you and give you a job, if you are jobless, for example. Someone who will stop whatever they are doing to come help you resolve a crisis. Someone who will not leave you on a read WhatsApp text you sent, yet you think they are your point of reference.
- A real network stands a taste of time, and they will be by your side no matter what. These are the people you keep in a circle. Also, remember that this is a reciprocal process.
- If you have someone you think is in your network, understand why you think they are in your network; that person could just be your colleague, someone you know, or someone who knows you are a valuable asset to them, and so, their keeping you around benefits them only. They know that one day they will need you. And these are the dangerous ones, because you will also keep them around even when they will never come through for you.
The Rejection Phase: As a high achiever, rejection is one thing I had little experience with until it came knocking right at my door. It wasn’t just one rejection, but several rejections despite all my credentials. Before, my experience was that if I put in the work, all my energies into applying and looking for opportunities, they would come easily. It wasn’t. What came was sorry, we have decided to move on with another candidate. This year was rough, seeing several rejections made me think I was incapable, it made me think that my imposter was real. One day, I had to look for my qualifications just to see if indeed I was a medical doctor and a qualified public health professional. The silence from recruiters was deafening. Some just never responded to me. But here are my lessons:
- Rejection has very little to do with you, especially if you put in the work and were qualified for that role.
- In the corporate world, most roles are already taken up by someone, and everything else is just for formality.
- Do not take a rejection personally; it will haunt you. Treat it like any other news you have received for the day.
- A rejection is part of a learning process; you prepared so well for that opportunity, which in turn prepares you for the next big one.
A Backup Plan: I didn’t even realise that I had a backup plan until I started living a life without an income. For example, every month, I got those reminders that my subscriptions would be cancelled if I didn’t pay, or that my card declined a payment. One thing I did before was save up unintentionally. While I had a savings target for every month, I was not consistent. All I remember is that I saved something every month. Also, I didn’t start up any big financial project because I wasn’t informed to jump into one, yet. After my job loss, my savings became my monthly upkeep cushioned with support from my sisters and friends. I did this for the whole year. I technically paid myself in 2025. And here is what I learned:
- You need to be intentional in your saving; you never know when this will come to your aid.
- When you have a job, think about and start other streams of income to sustain you when in a crisis, especially when you have a family to support. Do not start big but start up something.
- Do not be too comfortable with your job; It can be taken away from you at any point.
- Always determine whether you are doing someone a favour or if it’s a paid job.
Solitude is self-love: In 2025, I spent a lot of time alone, with no one in my space. I lived alone. I didn’t have a day-to-day job that required my physical presence. I spent my time reflecting and rediscovering myself. I listened to my inner voice, faced my deeper thoughts, and most importantly, my fears. I had never imagined myself being jobless. When I became jobless, it scared me so much. But I survived it with much more purpose than like having a job and moving with it in a whirlwind. My lesson here is that you, never think that it cannot happen to you. Build and nurture a life outside your career and work.
Career Pivoting: Career pivoting can be done at so many levels. My first career pivot occurred when I left the clinical space to join the public health space full-time. This was a huge decision, but I had a strong support system, and I knew exactly what I wanted. For the last 4 years, I worked as a public health professional until I lost my job. Then I started to question whether I had made the best decision. I panicked!! I thought going back to the clinical world would be easy, but it wasn’t at all. Also, I just did not have many options because the public health space had been suffocated by the USG funding freeze. I tried to get into spaces where I qualified but did not have experience. I guess this didn’t work. My lesson here is that you can pivot at any stage of your career. Do not let your qualifications and experience limit you.
With this, I hope that you get into your new year with new growth and perspectives.