Berneta Musina Musambai

Berneta Musina Musambai was born in 1949 in Cryingstone, Shinyalu, within Kakamega County. She was one of five children, though she has endured the heavy burden of outliving all four of her siblings. Her father was a laborer for a colonial settler, and the family lived a modest life centered on manual work.

She began her education at a local primary school but was only able to reach standard two before she had to stop. Her father lacked the financial means to keep her in school, and as one of the younger children, the resources had already been exhausted on her older siblings.

After leaving school, Berneta remained at home to assist her parents with subsistence farming. She spent her days tilling the land, as this was the only way the family could sustain themselves once her father finished his formal employment.

She eventually moved to Mukhonje, where she got married and gave birth to three children. Her husband worked as a laborer on European-owned farms, but he later fell ill with malaria and passed away. Following his death, her co-wife forced her out of her marital home, leaving her with no choice but to return to her birth home with her children.

The struggle to raise her three children was immense, with only one managing to reach Form One while the others stopped at Class Eight. Life became even more difficult as her daughters lost their husbands, leaving them stranded and unable to support their mother. During this time, Berneta sought refuge with her sister in Mombasa, where she sold vegetables to try and keep her children in school.

When the business in Mombasa failed due to heavy rains and lack of capital, she was forced to return to her matrimonial village, where her son eventually struggled to build her the small one-roomed mud house she occupies today. For fourteen years after her return, she lived in deep instability, often relying on the mercy of her sister for a single meal.

"Before I joined this program, I survived by wandering from neighbor to neighbor begging for a meal, but now I have the dignity of a full kitchen to share with my grandchildren," she says.

On April 1, 2023, Berneta joined the Mama Ibado program after noticing other elderly people receiving aid and inquiring about the process. She was registered and now receives essential supplies including maize flour, milk, tea leaves, sugar, salt, and porridge flour.

Beyond the food, Berneta benefits from specialized health support that addresses the physical toll taken by her years of heavy labor. She visits the clinic every Thursday for medical check-ups, ensuring that her chronic aches and health issues are managed by professionals.

Berneta still requires urgent assistance because her living conditions remain dire in a cramped, single-room mud house that lacks electricity and space for her family of five. Since she has no land to farm and her children are equally struggling with poverty, she remains entirely dependent on donors to sustain her health and nutrition.