ANGOLO JOHN MUSAMBI

John Musambi Angola was born in 1952 in Shinyalu, Kakamega County. He was the second of only two sons in his family.

He began his education at Mukhonje Primary School in Muraka, where he studied from class one to class three. He was forced to drop out because his parents struggled with alcoholism and could not afford his school fees.

After leaving school, John stayed at home and eventually began working as a block maker. He earned a living through this craft from 1972 until 1990, when the market changed and people began preferring different building materials.

He married his wife in December 1974, and together they were blessed with eight children. Raising such a large family was a heavy burden, as his wife sold bananas and performed small-scale farming while John took on manual labor to put food on the table.

The family endured deep poverty, often sleeping on empty stomachs whenever John failed to secure a day’s manual work. Following the loss of his two sons and the financial instability of his married daughters, the responsibility of providing became an impossible weight for him to carry alone in his old age.

John found hope through the Mama Ibado program on May 17, 2021, after being directed to the office while looking for work in town. He was registered to receive monthly rations including rice, maize flour, porridge flour, milk, salt, tea leaves, and cooking oil.

The program has completely transformed his daily life by removing the constant fear of starvation. John describes the change in his stability and peace of mind since he no longer has to wander in search of heavy labor just to eat.

"In the years before this help, my life was like being stuck in a deep pit with no way out, but today I walk with dignity because I am no longer haunted by hunger," he explains.

He expresses profound gratitude to the donors and wishes them a long life for pulling him out of his suffering. He views the support as a divine intervention that saved him from the desperation of his earlier years.

John still needs help because he is elderly and lacks a stable income or family members capable of supporting his basic needs. Without this continued assistance, he would return to a life of severe hunger and physical exhaustion.