Mukani Rosebella Skolo

Sikolo Asha Muhatia sits outside her rented mud house in Shivakhala, her head resting heavily on a wooden walking stick as she gazes into the distance. The walls of her small home are cracked, reflecting the many years of hardship she has endured while raising a family with almost nothing.

She was born on July 17, 1946, in Shirere, Kakamega County, as one of four children. Her early life was difficult, and she lost two of her siblings, leaving only two of them to navigate a world where they had very little support.

Sikolo never went to school because, during her youth, the custom was to prepare girls for marriage as soon as they matured. She stayed at home to learn domestic work, missing out on an education that might have changed her future.

She eventually entered into a marriage and gave birth to eight children, but her husband later abandoned her for a younger woman. Left alone, Sikolo had to work as a casual laborer, tilling the farms of others to find food for her many children.

Because she earned so little, she could not afford to take her children through school, and none of them were able to finish their education. Today, her surviving children have no stable jobs and struggle to survive through small manual tasks, leaving them unable to help their mother.

Her life became even more difficult when a chronic leg problem made it impossible for her to walk or work in the fields. She now lives in a rented mud house where the monthly rent is 2,000 shillings, a cost she often fails to pay, leading to the fear of being locked out.

Her daughter-in-law, Beatrice Moi, works at a small grocery stall in Shivakhala to care for Sikolo and four other dependents. Their situation was desperate until a village elder noticed their struggle and introduced them to Mama Ibado Charity.

The organization visited their home to assess the situation and officially enrolled Sikolo into the seniors' program on May 17, 2021. She now receives monthly rations of rice, sugar, oil, salt, and milk to sustain her household.

"In the past, my children and I lived in total darkness and hunger, but now I have the peace of knowing there is food on the table and medicine for my legs."

The food and medical support have restored her dignity, allowing her to live without the shame of begging for every meal. She no longer spends her days deep in the stress of how to survive another night in her rented room.

Sikolo still needs help because she is unable to walk and lives in a rented house she cannot afford on her own. Without this support, she and her dependents would face homelessness and a return to the hunger that once defined her life.