ABDILLE SHARMAKE ABDIRAHMAN

Born on January 1, 1949, in the Isiolo region, Abdille Sharmaki Abdirahman was raised in a large family of nine children. Over the years, his original family circle grew smaller as some of his siblings passed away and others scattered to different parts of the country.

He went to school in the northeastern region and completed his secondary education up to form four. He did not continue his studies beyond high school because he needed to earn a living, which led him to take up a job as a teacher in a local religious madrasa.

After his years of teaching, he moved into community service and dedicated his time to voluntary Islamic dawah work. This religious journey eventually brought him from his home town to Western Kenya, where he settled down to serve the mosques within Kakamega town.

He later got married and became a father to six children, three girls and three boys. The family lived in a small, cramped mud house with a rusted iron-sheet roof in the Kambi Somali area, where everyday survival was a constant struggle.

As time went on, two of his grown sons developed severe mental health illnesses. This condition left them completely helpless and unable to look for or hold down stable jobs, keeping them entirely dependent on their parents.

To try and support the household, Abdille and his wife set up a very small food kiosk inside the Jamia Mosque compound. They would wake up early every morning to prepare tea, chapatis, and mahamri for the worshippers and locals.

Despite their daily hard work, the money they made from the food kiosk was too little to meet their needs. This low income regularly left the couple, their two sick sons, and their three young grandchildren without any food, forcing the entire family to sleep on empty stomachs.

His situation began to change when he met the team from Mama Ibado during a religious dawah trip in Samburu County. Following this meeting, the charity workers visited his leaking iron-sheet home in Kakamega to check on his living conditions, saw his deep poverty, and registered him into the seniors program on October 3, 2024.

Through this program, Abdille now receives a reliable monthly food supply. The basket includes essential items like rice, milk, porridge flour, and maize flour to make ugali for his household.

This regular food supply brought immediate relief to his home and removed the heavy burden of food insecurity that he had carried for a long time.

"Before joining the program, we constantly worried about our next meal and frequently slept hungry, but now we have good food and I can save my small energy to care for my family," Abdille shared.

The consistent supply of milk and porridge has especially helped improve the health of his young grandchildren, including those who are still breastfeeding.

Even with this food support, Abdille faces difficult daily health problems, including high blood pressure, arthritis, and painful stomach ulcers. He still needs ongoing support because his medical conditions require expensive monthly drugs, his two adult sons cannot support themselves due to their mental illnesses, and the small food kiosk does not bring in enough money to repair his broken, leaking house.