FATUMA ABDILLE MOHAMMED

Fatuma Mohammed Abdille’s life is a testament to resilience, determination, and a mother’s commitment to her children. Living in Isiolo, Kenya, she has faced the challenges of raising a family under difficult circumstances, particularly following the death of her husband. Since his passing, Fatuma has carried the responsibility of providing for her household, taking on the roles of both parents while doing everything within her means to ensure her children have what they need.

Raising six children has not been easy, especially after losing one of them. Today, Fatuma remains focused on the five children who depend on her, determined to give them opportunities for a better future despite the hardships they face. Her eldest child completed secondary school but has struggled to find employment, while her daughter has reached Form Three and another son recently completed Grade Nine. As she continues to navigate the challenges of providing for her family, Fatuma hopes to see her youngest son join secondary school next year, holding on to the belief that education can open doors to better opportunities for her children.

With no reliable source of income, Fatuma depends on casual work and small-scale trading to meet her family’s daily needs. During the rainy seasons, she travels to nearby farms to weed crops and earn a modest income. When farm work is unavailable, she gathers and sells firewood, trades in charcoal, or sells vegetables whenever she can find them. Her days are shaped by the search for any available opportunity to earn money, and she continues to work hard despite the uncertainty of how much she will make. For Fatuma, every small earning counts towards putting food on the table and keeping her children moving forward.

For more than twelve years, Mama Ibado Charity has been a consistent source of support for Fatuma and her family. Through its monthly feeding programme, she receives essential household food supplies, including rice, wheat flour, maize flour, sugar, cooking oil, tea leaves, salt, and other essential food items. This assistance helps ease the pressure of securing meals for her household, particularly during periods when casual work is scarce and her earnings are insufficient to meet all the family’s needs.

In addition to food assistance, Mama Ibado Charity’s healthcare programme provides support through regular check-ups and access to necessary medication when health concerns arise. For a mother managing the needs of her household with limited resources, this assistance helps reduce the burden of healthcare costs and provides reassurance that medical needs can be addressed when they arise.

The support Fatuma has received over the years has become an important part of her family’s journey. While she continues to work tirelessly to provide for her children, the assistance helps ease some of the daily pressures she faces and allows her to direct her limited resources towards other household needs, including her children’s education.

Despite the difficulties she has endured, Fatuma remains determined to keep her family together and give her children the opportunity to build better futures. Her journey reflects the strength of many women who shoulder the responsibility of raising their families with limited resources, relying on their own determination while navigating circumstances beyond their control.