KIRIBASI ISSA SAULO

Kiribasi Issa Saulo was born on December 18, 1963, in Butere, Mumias. He grew up in a large family of five brothers and one sister, but over the years, death took all his siblings, leaving him as the sole survivor.

He attended a local school in Kakamega and reached standard seven. However, his education ended there because his parents passed away, leaving him without anyone to pay his school fees or guide his future.

After leaving school, he began a life of endless casual labor, moving from one temporary job to another. He worked tilling land and helping Somali families in Kakamega with their vehicles and luggage, but these opportunities vanished when the businesses were sold.

Kiribasi eventually married, but his first marriage collapsed due to the extreme poverty and hunger that defined their daily lives. He later remarried and had six children, though the struggle to raise them remained a constant battle against the lack of resources.

His life is further complicated by a broken leg that never healed properly, making it very difficult for him to walk or find manual work. He lives in a semi-permanent house built in a swampy area near a stream, where water occasionally seeps up through the floor, forcing his family to seek shelter with friends during rainy nights.

His wife used to wash clothes for people in town to help buy food, but most clients now use laundries or have moved away. Most of his children were taken in by distant relatives to reduce the burden of hunger, while the two remaining with him have no stable work.

His breakthrough came when religious leaders and friends from the Somali community recognized his suffering and directed him to the charity. A staff member assessed his dire living conditions in the swampy Shitungu area and officially enrolled him in the seniors' program on October 3, 2024.

Kiribasi now receives monthly rations of maize flour, porridge flour, cooking oil, sugar, and salt. These supplies ensure that even when he cannot walk to find work, his wife and the five dependents in his house do not go without a meal.

"I used to live in fear of the water rising in my house and the hunger in my stomach, but today I have the dignity of knowing there is food in my kitchen."

The provision of food has relieved the immense stress of survival, allowing him to manage his physical disability without the constant pressure of finding his next meal. The charity has provided a safety net that his own family and casual labor could not offer.

Kiribasi still needs help because his broken leg prevents him from ever returning to manual labor to support his household. His semi-permanent house in the swampy terrain remains a health hazard, and with no stable income, he relies entirely on charity to survive.