Rukia Musimbi Abdi

Rukia Musimbi Abdi was born in 1950 in Senende, Vihiga County, as the firstborn in a family of twelve children.

Her early life was defined by the deep economic hardships faced by her parents, who struggled as casual laborers earning only two shillings a day. Because her parents could not afford the cost of education, Rukia only managed to attend a few classes before dropping out.

Following her exit from school, she remained at home to assist her parents with farming and household chores, as there were no other opportunities available to her.

She eventually married into a family in Banja, Maragoli, and later moved with her husband to Kampala, Uganda, where they lived for many years.

During their time in Uganda, she worked tirelessly as a small-scale trader, waking up early to prepare and sell sambusas, mandazis, and bananas at construction sites and markets. They saved enough money to return to Kenya in 1974 to purchase a piece of land in Makaka, but their stability was short-lived as her husband passed away in 1986.

Her life has been marked by profound loss, as she gave birth to fourteen children, yet only six remain alive today.

One of her sons, who worked for the city council in Nairobi, passed away suddenly while visiting the village, leaving behind four orphans for Rukia to raise.

She has spent decades laboring in the fields of others to provide for these grandchildren, often struggling to find enough food to satisfy their hunger. Even today, she lives in a three-roomed mud house next to the quiet, locked home of her late son, sharing her space with a daughter who suffers from severe memory loss.

Before finding help, Rukia and her large household faced days of extreme scarcity where a simple meal was a luxury they could rarely afford. Her breakthrough came through her involvement in the Madrasa at the local mosque, where community members noticed her inability to continue doing heavy manual labor. She was registered into the Mama Ibado program on April 1, 2023, after field officers met her during a community visit.

"In the past, I would sit in this house wondering how I would feed the twelve grandchildren under my care, but now I wait for the second of the month with a peaceful heart. This support is the only pillar I have left to lean on, and it has brought dignity back to my home."

Through the program, Rukia receives a comprehensive food basket that includes four bags of maize flour, two kilograms of sugar, rice, porridge flour, tea leaves, salt, and cooking oil. This consistent supply ensures that her grandchildren no longer go to bed hungry and that she can maintain her own strength.

Rukia remains in urgent need of assistance because she is the sole guardian of several orphans and a disabled daughter while having no source of income. Without the continued support of donors, her household would fall back into the desperate cycle of hunger and total deprivation.