Mukolwe James Sakwa

Mukolwe James Sakwa was born in 1954 in Kakamega as one of two children in his family. His early childhood revolved around his parents and his sister, who was his only sibling.

His time in school was brief, ending abruptly in Class 1 when his mother passed away.

Being left without primary care and with an elderly father who could no longer support his education, he was forced to drop out, spending his young years gathering firewood and herding cattle for neighbors to help secure food.

Leaving school at such a primary level severely limited his future opportunities, leaving him without basic literacy or formal skills. Regretting his inability to continue his education, he was restricted to hard physical labor, taking up construction work and casual masonry jobs to earn a meager living.

When he later got married and started his own family, raising his four children—two sons and two daughters—proved to be an ongoing financial struggle. His wife assisted by doing manual plastering of mud houses, but their combined casual earnings were barely enough to keep the children in school beyond Classes 2 or 3.

Providing food for the household remained an exhausting ordeal, with many days ending in hunger when daily labor was unavailable. On the hardest nights, the family relied entirely on small portions of food shared by sympathetic neighbors, which were never enough to satisfy their hunger.

His life grew even harder as age and failing health caught up with him, leaving him with chronic back pain and severe asthma that made construction work impossible. The loss of his sister, who had previously lived with him and shared his burden, added deep emotional sorrow to his financial hardship.

A turning point came when Mama Ibado’s coordinators assisting his late sister noticed his severe living conditions and suffering. Program representatives visited his rental home, recorded his details, took photographs, and officially enrolled him into the senior's feeding program on May 17, 2021.

"The monthly food packages have given me peace of mind, and I no longer worry about where my next meal will come from," Mukolwe reflects on his life today.

Every month, Mukolwe receives four bags of maize flour, sugar, cooking oil, tea leaves, and salt, which ensures he no longer faces empty meals.

However, living in a rented mud house without an income, while managing chronic back aches and asthma, leaves him in continuous need of donor support to cover his medical check-ups and monthly rent.