ATOKO NDUKU HAMISI

Atoko Nduku Hamisi was born in 1947 in Lutonyi, Kakamega County. He grew up in a small household as one of three brothers.

He never had the opportunity to attend school or step into a classroom. His father lacked the financial means to pay for his education, leaving him at home from a young age.

Atoko began performing manual labor to survive once it was clear he would not receive an education. He spent his years making building blocks and doing construction work for others in his village.

After getting married, he worked as a manual mason to provide for his growing family. He is the only surviving sibling after his youngest brother passed away while still in primary school.

He spent his life burning and selling bricks to educate his children, yet none of them have found employment today. They all remain at home and depend on him for their basic survival.

His wife has lost her memory and is unable to stand or move without his constant physical assistance. The family relies on the last-born son who burns bricks, but this has exhausted the soil on their small plot, leaving them with no place to live or work.

Before finding help, Atoko was forced to beg for food from his neighbors and friends to keep his family alive. He could no longer perform heavy labor due to his age and the constant care his wife required.

He joined the Mama Ibado Charity in May 2021 after meeting field officers who were visiting a neighbor. They assessed his living conditions and registered him to receive monthly food and medical support.

Every month, he receives essential supplies including four bags of maize flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, tea leaves, and salt. He also visits the clinic every Thursday for medical check-ups to manage his health as a senior.

Atoko reflects on how the consistency of this support has changed his mental and physical well-being. "In the past, I struggled every day with the stress of how to feed my family, but now I have the peace of knowing there is food in the house."

He expresses deep gratitude for the program because he has no other source of income at seventy-nine years old. This assistance allows him to focus his limited energy on caring for his ailing wife.

Atoko still needs help because he is the sole caregiver for a wife who cannot function on her own. Without this intervention, his entire household would have no means of obtaining food or medical care.