JARED'S STORY

"My name is Jared. I am a father of 8 children and grandfather too. We all live together in my small house. We cannot afford to keep social distance either can we afford any lockdown. If corona comes to my house today, we shall not have a chance.
Surviving in the slum is never easy. Many of the dwellers like me moved from the village to the city in search of work only to end up crammed together, living from hand to mouth and in destitution. Dirty environment coupled with crime, burglaries, assault cases, drug trafficking and murder are all attributes of Kibera slums. My grandchild was born by my girl before she turned 16 years. I painfully watched my girl become pregnant and give birth to the child while in school. Not to mention being in jail and getting sexually molested and contracting HIV. When I thought that my problems had ended upon released from jail, then I come home to realise that my only wife who had stayed with my children while I was in jail was diagnosed with cancer. This is a story for another day though because now I would just like to share with you about the current situation."

" In Kibera slums, most residents experience poor diets and have repeatedly faced outbreaks of cholera, measles and malaria. Toilets can be shared with hundreds of others. With the recent outbreak of the COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, life here is getting almost unbearable. The government recently suspended learning in all educational institutions as a result of this global pandemic, forcing the kids even those in boarding schools to go home. Families of even more than ten people are now packed into one room just like mine. Feeding such a large number becomes a challenge and sleeping on a hungry stomach is becoming a norm. Social distancing and self-isolation, being one of the ways of controlling the menace, is thus next to impossible.
When you come to Kibera, people are everywhere. Men are not working and neither are their wives or children. All children are at home waiting for food. It is a disaster. I may be called reckless or ignorant or naïve but my stomach and those of my children know none of these. It is food or death. I have to survive at least for my family.
Many families are experiencing helplessness and it is the main reason why most of the people in the slums are putting themselves at risk of contracting coronavirus, despite being aware of the dangers of the virus. The homes have no running water thus regular handwashing is challenging to follow. Household commodities are getting scarce and expensive each day.
My children not being able to study at home at present due to lack of electricity is the least of my worries. I am worried and I have more serious issues to handle; feeding my family, paying the rent among, taking my wife for chemo while keeping safe, among other challenges. How do I even do these since I have no job or any source of income?
Without Wanawake Kwa Wanawake Organization, I would be already in the street begging for food or some of my children would be beggars in the street. This organization has greatly helped my family. This gives me hope to live to another day".

THANK YOU!
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE A SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM THE TEAM IN KIBERA .

It has been a big week for the team at the WkW Centre.

The process of contacting all the families and co-ordinating the pick up of food packages was a huge job. The families arrived at the centre where they patiently awaited their turn to receive a pack. The staff were exhausted but refused to rest until every pack had been distributed.

WKW was very grateful to have received a extra donation of supplies from The Visa Ashwal Community in Nairobi. This meant an extra 52 families from the Kibera informal settlement were able to receive much needed food and supplies. We thank the Visa Oshwal Community for their generous support.

The staff have been incredibly busy but have managed to put together a special edition of the Wanawake Kwe Wanawake Newsletter.
CLICK HERE to have a read.

The Disaster Appeal is still collecting vital funds to help feed the families in the months ahead.
$15.50 will purchase a food pack which will last a family one month.
Donations can be made using the link below

Donate to Disaster Fund

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Women for Women in Africa · PO Box 2184 · Wattletree Rd PO, VIC 3145 · Australia

The staff have been incredibly busy but have managed to put together a special edition of the Wanawake Kwe Wanawake Newsletter. CLICK HERE to have a read.

The staff have been incredibly busy but have managed to put together a special edition of the Wanawake Kwe Wanawake Newsletter.
CLICK HERE to have a read.