Salim Rehema Ingosi

Salim Rehema Ingosi was born in 1938 in Kakamega County. She was the fourth child of nine in her family. Rehema never received formal schooling.

During her youth, Muslim girls were forbidden from attending Western schools. Her sister was even removed and beaten for trying to attend. Instead, Rehema only attended the Madrasa for religious lessons.

She spent her days there performing household chores at home. Her life changed when she met her future husband while studying the Qur'an. He proposed marriage, and she moved to Bomani where his mother welcomed her.

Rehema and her husband raised a large family of ten children. Her husband worked far away, operating heavy machinery in Uganda. She cooked and sold samosas at the old market to support her family.

This joint income helped ensure their children could go to school. As Rehema aged, her physical strength declined. She could no longer continue the samosa business or farm the land.

Finding food became a daily difficulty without her own income. She began depending on her children’s small, occasional contributions for survival. Her children have also faced many heartbreaking losses and difficulties.

While one son finished school, one daughter died shortly after marriage. Three other daughters died after struggling with life's hardships. Only one daughter remains with a family of five children.

Rehema is an older woman who requires help due to these losses and her lack of income. Relief arrived through the Mama Ibado feeding program. She first heard about it from a young person while going to the mosque.

He told her that widowed women were called to collect food in Amalemba. Despite lacking bus fare, she went and successfully registered her name. She now receives essential food packages every month.

These include ugali flour, rice, cooking oil, salt, and tea leaves. This stable supply of food has helped restore her health and strength. Beyond food, she also benefits from medical care, visiting the clinic every Thursday for a check-up.

Rehema is grateful for this consistent support, which is given regardless of faith. She prays God protects the benefactor and increases her blessings. Rehema needs this life-sustaining assistance because her declining strength prevents her from earning money.