Elizabeth Chisa

Elizabeth Chisa was born in 1959 in Mkango village, Sabatia, within Vihiga County. She grew up as the seventh child in a large family of six brothers and two sisters, where her parents were traditional farmers who worked the land to provide for their children.

She attended Mkingi Primary School and managed to reach class seven, but her journey in education came to an abrupt end because her parents could not afford her school fees.

Forced by circumstances to help her family, she began a small business selling bananas, mangoes, and sugarcane along the roads used by early settlers to sustain her siblings.

Elizabeth sacrificed her own future to pay for her brother’s education, selling her wares until he reached high school, where the financial burden eventually became too heavy for both of them to bear. After leaving her trade, she married into a family in Maragoli and moved to Eldoret with her husband, who worked as a school security guard.

Life was difficult, and after her husband took another wife, Elizabeth was forced out of her home and returned to her birthplace to raise her children alone.

Following the passing of her parents and siblings, she moved to Kakamega, where she now lives in a rented iron-sheet house near Matende Primary, paying 2,000 shillings monthly while facing the threat of eviction due to a land dispute.

She struggled to educate her daughter, who reached form two before the lack of fees forced her to drop out and join her mother in selling boiled maize. Elizabeth’s attempts to run a stable charcoal and maize shop were thwarted twice by thieves who broke in and stole her entire stock, leaving her with nothing but debts and a large family to feed.

Her physical suffering increased when a severe leg wound became infected, leaving her barely able to walk as it leaked pus and caused her leg to swell painfully. Despite her agony, she continued to limp along the streets hawking boiled maize and coffee in the evenings to ensure her grandchildren did not starve.

Her life changed when she met the Mama Ibado team while hawking her maize; she would stop to greet them, eventually showing them her untreated leg and sharing the story of her empty kitchen. On April 1, 2023, after the team witnessed her dire living conditions and the severity of her injury, she was officially enrolled in the seniors’ program.

She now receives monthly supplies of rice, sugar, maize flour, milk, salt, and tea leaves, which have brought much-needed stability to her home. Remarkably, the consistent nutrition and the ability to rest her leg led to the healing of her chronic wound, which had defied hospital treatment for months.

"I used to limp through the streets in pain just to find a coin for food, but today my leg is healed and my grandchildren no longer ask me why the pots are empty."

This assistance has restored her health and dignity, allowing her to care for her five dependents without the crushing fear of total hunger. The food she receives has replaced the desperation of her previous life with a sense of security and gratitude.

Elizabeth still needs help because she lives on the verge of homelessness due to the land case at her current residence and has no stable income to cover rent. As an elderly woman with no assets and five grandchildren relying on her, the support of the charity is her only shield against a return to the streets.