Pauline Ayuma Lumiti resides in the quiet area of Muraka, Kakamega County. He was born in 1946; she grew up alongside two siblings as part of a three-child family where she was the youngest.
Formal schooling remained entirely out of reach for her. The family income could not stretch to cover any educational costs, keeping her at home from her earliest years.
Remaining on the family land, she spent her youth performing manual farm labor. To help her parents buy basics, she regularly harvested and sold small batches of bananas at local markets.
She never married or had children, continuing instead to offer her labor where she could. She secured a domestic role cleaning houses for an Indian family for a long period, whi...
Pauline Ayuma Lumiti resides in the quiet area of Muraka, Kakamega County. He was born in 1946; she grew up alongside two siblings as part of a three-child family where she was the youngest.
Formal schooling remained entirely out of reach for her. The family income could not stretch to cover any educational costs, keeping her at home from her earliest years.
Remaining on the family land, she spent her youth performing manual farm labor. To help her parents buy basics, she regularly harvested and sold small batches of bananas at local markets.
She never married or had children, continuing instead to offer her labor where she could. She secured a domestic role cleaning houses for an Indian family for a long period, which provided her sole consistent source of livelihood.
When that employment ended, she returned to live with her aging parents. Over time, her father, mother, and both of her siblings passed away, leaving her entirely isolated on the family plot.
She now survives alone inside a fragile mud house that offers little protection. Frail, she battles severe ulcers, constant chest pains, and debilitating body aches every day.
With no family left to provide support, obtaining a single meal became a daily struggle that frequently left her sleeping on an empty stomach. Her health deteriorated severely as she lacked the strength to look for casual jobs or the funds to buy food.
A local teacher named Amina eventually noticed her desperate situation and worsening medical state. Recognizing the urgency, she introduced Pauline to the community leadership, who facilitated her registration into the Mama Ibado Seniors Programme.
Through the initiative, she receives a reliable monthly food basket containing rice, milk, sugar, maize flour, and porridge flour. The program also directly manages her healthcare needs by ensuring she receives medical check-ups and necessary medications.
"The food and the medicine have truly sustained me, giving me relief from the severe hunger and the constant pain I used to endure alone."
The steady nutritional support has significantly lowered her daily stress levels. Instead of expending her limited physical energy wondering where her next meal will come from, she can now focus on managing her health.
Every Thursday, she visits the clinic for regular monitoring of her ulcers and chronic body aches. This routine medical care has successfully stabilized her conditions and brought vital comfort back to her life.
She expresses deep spiritual gratitude for the timely intervention that rescued her from total destitution. She credits the organization with restoring her human dignity during her most vulnerable years.
However, living alone in a deteriorating mud structure with ongoing chronic illness presents immense challenges. Continued assistance is vital to ensure she maintains access to medical care and lives her remaining years in a safe, secure environment.