My name is Rosemary Rop, the sixth of nine daughters born to Ambassador Ernest Cheruiyot arap Lang’at and Ludiah Cherotich Lang’at. I am a born-again Christian, and I thank God for the legacy my father left through the witness of his life and the example of his words. For more than twenty-five years, I have worked in international development, advising governments, state corporations, and civil society across Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, South Asia, and the Caribbean on citizen engagement, governance, and institutional reform, much of it with the World Bank Group.

I later served as Executive Committee Member for Water, Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Forests in the County Government of Kericho. I have also served on the boards of the Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency, Kericho High School, ROCKblue, and Brighter Communities Worldwide. I hold degrees from the University of Nairobi, a postgraduate diploma from Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and I am completing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration at Kenyatta University.

Closer to home, my siblings, their families, and I helped fulfil our father’s vision of establishing a tea factory to add value to his tea estate. Ernestea Ltd is now in production, and in 2024, its purple and green teas were ranked Kenya’s highest-value teas by the Tea Board of Kenya. This book, however, is rooted in my years with Ambassador Lang’at. I grew up as his daughter during his diplomatic service and watched him long after retirement as he continued building, innovating, serving his community and wider family, and strengthening the local church. He never treated retirement as an ending, but as another season of faithful stewardship. That is the legacy I hope this book preserves.

My Mission

I am writing my father’s biography, based on his own account. Before he passed away, he asked me to help him write it.

Earlier attempts had been made, and his concern throughout was that the book should be an honest reflection of his beliefs, actions, and motivations. In particular, he did not want his motivations invented or embellished for entertainment. Truthfulness mattered more to him than simply telling a good story, and that instruction has governed every page of this biography.

My Writing Process

I have spent my career producing reports, policies, and frameworks. Telling a true story well, however, is another matter, and the Onyx Writing Class is where I began learning how to do this. The content of the book was relayed to me by my father over several months in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with further insights drawn from people in the church, community, and wider society. My challenge was never a shortage of material. It was the crafting of the story: how to use literary tools to make it digestible, accessible, and relatable to a reader who never met him.

Since I had not written a book before, I read widely in published biographies and memoirs for inspiration, studying how other writers handled faith, hardship, and character. I also had to intentionally make room for writing alongside my other responsibilities. I often worked late into the night. Those are the hours when I work best, with few distractions, no interruptions, and the quiet that a story like this requires.

My Posture

I welcome feedback that improves my work. I appreciated the structured peer review system provided by CLC and was deeply honoured to have someone read my manuscript and take the time to help me strengthen it. For me, feedback became part of the process of learning how to tell my father’s story faithfully and effectively.

My Onyx Writing Class Experience

I acknowledge with gratitude CLC Kenya for the weekly guidance and supportive structure that gave me the courage to write this book.

The deadlines, which I could not quietly postpone, helped turn an intention into a manuscript. The class provided the structure and accountability I needed to move from wanting to preserve my father’s story to actually putting it into writing. I would recommend CLC Kenya’s Writing Class to friends and associates without hesitation, and I have already done so.

Closing Reflection

Myles Munroe famously observed that the graveyard is filled with unwritten books, unrealised plans, and potential that was never developed. My encouragement to aspiring writers and beginning authors is therefore simple: do not allow yourself to die with your story still inside you.

Your story may be the very message that changes the trajectory of someone else’s life. For me, this writing journey is also an act of stewardship. It is an opportunity to preserve my father’s story truthfully and ensure that the lessons of his faith, service, innovation, and commitment to others can continue speaking to generations beyond his lifetime.