EMMA SHIKAMI MISIKO

Emma sits quietly in front of her unfinished house, her face etched with the weight of many worries. To her side stands the crumbling mud house she currently calls home, a structure so weak it appears ready to fall at any moment. The compound around her is silent and deserted, filled with the small houses of her sons who have all passed away, their doors now permanently locked with padlocks.

Born on June 3, 1943, Emma grew up as an only child after her mother passed away while she was still an infant. With no siblings and very few resources at home, she was never able to attend school. Her childhood was spent working in the fields, focusing entirely on manual labor and the basic struggle to survive.

As a young woman, she married and moved to Musoli, where she and her husband worked as small-scale farmers before eventually buying a piece of land in Ilesi. Emma gave birth to ten children, but her life has been defined by deep loss. Her husband died in a road accident, and over the years, every one of her sons passed away, some as children and others in similar accidents on the road.

Her daughter in Bunyala, who was the family’s main provider, had started building a semi-permanent house to rescue Emma from her leaking mud dwelling. However, this daughter was killed during a domestic dispute while she was pregnant, leaving the house unfinished and without a roof. Emma now lives with another daughter, Josephine, whose own husband passed away and who also lives with a physical disability.

Before receiving help, Emma and her daughter struggled to find even a single meal, often weeding neighbors' farms or selling firewood in exchange for food. They faced many nights of hunger when manual work was unavailable. On April 1, 2023, members of the Catholic Church noticed their desperate situation and introduced Emma to the Mama Ibado program.

Because Emma is now too frail to walk long distances, Josephine assists her in collecting their monthly food basket. This package includes essential supplies such as maize flour, cooking oil, sugar, and rice, which support Emma and the three grandchildren currently in her care.

"Before this intervention, we sat in constant worry, wondering how we would survive in a house that was falling apart with no food to eat. Now, the heavy stress of hunger has been lifted, and we feel a sense of peace despite the many hardships we have faced."

Emma also receives medical support, visiting the clinic every Thursday for check-ups and treatment. This healthcare is vital because the years of hard labor and the loss of her children have left her body very weak and prone to illness.

She remains in urgent need of assistance because she is an elderly widow living in a dangerous, incomplete house with no reliable income. Without continued support, Emma and her grandchildren would have no way to get food or the medical care they need to stay alive.