LIKABO CHARLES MUTOKO

Likabo Charles Mutoko was born in 1960 in Shirere, Kakamega County. He was the firstborn in a family of four children.

His education was cut short when he reached Standard Two due to a lack of school fees. His parents were unable to support his schooling, forcing him to leave his studies behind and begin a life of manual labor to help the family survive.

After leaving school, Likabo spent his years doing small "vibarua" or casual jobs around the village. He performed heavy tasks in people's homesteads, earning just enough to buy a single meal, as his parents had both passed away, leaving the siblings to fend for themselves.

Likabo eventually married, and the couple was blessed with one child, but their life was defined by extreme poverty. The marriage collapsed under the weight of these struggles, and his wife left, leaving him alone. Further hardship followed when his only child fell ill and passed away, leaving Likabo with no immediate family to lean on in his mud-walled room.

His health began to fail while he was working as a laborer in Kapsabet, where he developed severe swelling across his body and a debilitating infestation of jiggers in his feet.

The condition became so grave that he could no longer stand or work, prompting his employer to physically carry him back to his ancestral home and leave him there.

He now lives in a single-roomed mud house with no electricity, situated next to his sister, Agnes, who returned from Nairobi after a domestic dispute and struggles to support her own three children through washing clothes.

Likabo’s breakthrough came when a local leader noticed his deteriorating state and reported his case to the area chief. The chief provided a letter of recommendation that allowed Agnes to take Likabo to the Mama Ibado Charity offices, where he was formally enrolled into the seniors’ program on December 3, 2019.

Today, Likabo receives a monthly supply of milk, maize flour, cooking oil, and sugar, which ensures he no longer has to worry about the hunger that once plagued his lonely home. Since joining the program, he also receives regular medical attention, which has helped treat the jigger infestation and the skin complications that had previously left him unable to move.

"There was a time I thought I would die in silence because I could not even walk to find food, but the support I receive now has given me back my life and my dignity."

This assistance has lightened the burden on his sister, Agnes, who previously had to choose between feeding her children and helping her ailing brother. Likabo can now rest in his home with the security of knowing his nutritional and health needs are met by the charity.

Likabo still needs help because the permanent damage to his feet and his advanced age mean he will never be able to perform casual labor again. Living in a fragile mud house with three dependents in the homestead and no stable source of income, he remains entirely reliant on well-wishers to maintain the small bit of health he has regained.