Zena Isugu Were

Weathered walls and a leaking roof mark the quiet yard where Zenah Injugu Moses Were spends her days alongside her family.

Zenah Injugu Moses was born in 1951 in Shamsinjiri village, Kakamega County, as one of nine children in her family. Her early childhood revolved around her family home, where six of her siblings passed away over the years, leaving only four surviving children.

She started her education with great hope and progressed up to Class 7. However, after her father left the family without providing financial support, her mother struggled to raise money, forcing Zenah to leave school prematurely to help generate income at home.

Following her departure from school, Zenah engaged in selling bananas and small Mandazi pastries while helping her mother with farm work. She spent long hours tilling neighbors' land to secure meal portions and basic household necessities.

She later married Musa Bakari and relocated to Kabras, Lukume, to establish their family. Though her husband worked, he provided little financial support for the home, leaving her to raise their nine children through persistent casual farm labor.

Tragedy weighed heavily on her household as her husband passed away, followed by the deaths of five of her children. Years later, one of her surviving daughters also died, leaving behind three young grandchildren for Zenah to raise entirely on her own.

Life became far more challenging when her children completed Class 8 and Form Four but could not secure steady employment due to a difficult local job market. A brief glimmer of hope emerged when her son bought a motorbike for transport business, but it was stolen shortly after, destroying their only regular source of income and leaving them to survive on erratic manual labor.

Her physical struggles escalated in 2021 when she suffered a severe fall near her kitchen that fractured her ribs. Lacking the Ksh. 8,000 required for medical X-rays and treatment, she was unable to access proper care, leaving her with chronic body pain, severe joint stiffness, and failing eyesight that ended her ability to work.

Relief finally reached her when a friend from the local mosque noticed her household's deep distress and directed her to the foundation. Later, Mama Ibado officers visited her home, assessed her critical living condition, and officially enrolled her into the seniors program.

"Life was full of anxiety when I could not afford meals, but now my household is assured of monthly food packages," Zenah says.

Today, Zenah receives essential monthly food supplies, including maize flour, porridge flour, sugar, rice, salt, and cooking oil, which has alleviated the constant burden of hunger.

However, managing chronic body pain and deteriorating eyesight without a stable income leaves her household in continuous need of donor support to afford specialized medical care and sustain her young grandchildren.