Fatuma Saadi Shikhunjira

At 62 years, Fatuma Saadi knows what it means to endure life’s hardships. From her modest home in Majengo, Kakamega, where she was born and raised, Fatuma shares a story etched with resilience, solitude, and ultimately, newfound relief.

For years, Fatuma carried the weight of survival on her shoulders. She worked tirelessly in Kakamega town, doing what she could to make ends meet. But time and physical strain caught up with her. “I used to work in town,” she explains. “But I had to stop because of problems with my knees.” Forced to leave employment behind, Fatuma returned to her home in Majengo, where she faced a bleak and uncertain future.

Her personal life has had its share of twists. Fatuma got married in Mumias, where she was blessed with a son. “He’s still alive to this day, living in Mumias,” she shares. But even with family elsewhere, the reality of her day-to-day life in Majengo remained a constant struggle. “My life was hard,” she says simply. “Getting food wasn’t easy. I had to either work on people’s farms, clean their clothes or clean their homes just to get something to eat.”

Yet, amid the hardship, hope found its way to her door.

Fatuma’s life took a meaningful turn when Mama Ibado Charity began supporting her through the senior food program. “Now I thank God,” she says, “Mama Ibado Charity has taken away my burdens.”

Each month, Fatuma receives food essentials: flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, and other supplies that have made hunger a thing of the past. “Nowadays, hunger is no longer a problem for us,” she says, a visible sense of peace replacing years of worry.

For Fatuma, the support means more than just meals; it has restored a sense of dignity and eased the burdens of old age.