Helping Hand Appeal 2017
With the support of Mary’s Meals, single mum Margaret is battling tremendous odds to make sure her children can eat
Family life can be a real struggle in Turkana, Kenya, at the best of times, but now the situation is more serious than ever following water shortages due to lack of rain in autumn of last year.
It means that traditional sources of income and sustenance, like goats, have disappeared.
Goats are a status symbol in Turkana, and people who once had herds of 100 or so may now have as few as three or four.
The drought has left many families in desperate situations, starving and penniless.
However, they are not beaten. A fierce pride radiates through the communities. Families like that of Margaret, a single mother to five children, are working hard to overcome the odds.
They are being supported by Mary’s Meals who, by providing a nutritious meal, are offering a lifeline and a small respite from the relentless need to find food.
Margaret’s two youngest children, Leah and Joyce, receive Mary’s Meals food, which is served at the nearby Early Childhood Development Centres (ECD), which are run by the Diocese of Lodwar.
Food is a source of constant anxiety. Joyce has faced malnutrition, but with the intervention of Mary’s Meals, her health has now improved.
“I was very worried about her,” Margaret said. “When she became malnourished, she was very sick, and I was just hoping for any help that could come by and assist her to regain her health.
“There’s not always work for me to do. Sometimes, somebody can tell me to do this work or do that work and they give me something small for it, so I can buy something for the family.
“When there’s nothing to eat, they just sleep hungry. There are some trees that they can get fruit from.
“When the food came, the nutritionist visited and identified Joyce as malnourished. She was able to begin eating the meals from the school.
“I was very happy. It was only that food that helped her. Mary’s Meals is doing a very great job.”
Joyce likes to join in with her older siblings, helping with chores and even collecting small containers of water.
She’s come a long way since the worst of her malnutrition, but the spectre of hunger is never far away.
Despite the struggles she faces, Margaret is a resolute character, quick to smile and determined to overcome the hardships facing her and her children.
She works hard to provide
“I WISH THAT ALL MY CHILDREN WILL FINISH THEIR STUDIES”
for her family, juggling different jobs and putting in long hours.
“Sometimes I make mats and baskets (from doum palm leaves) and sell them,” she said. “But for my children not at the ECD, I don’t always have money for food.
“I am hoping to raise a small amount of money so I can use this building as a kiosk to sell things to support the children. Just small groceries: foodstuff like maize, beans rice or other groceries, like candles, matches or kerosene.
“I recently went to Kalajol (a place at the edge of Lake Turkana, about 7km away) where there are fishermen and fishmongers and I went to look for a job.
“The people there wanted me to help gutting the fish to dry for them to sell. I did that for a while and earned enough money to spend part on food for the children and to save the rest. When I had saved enough, I could buy the corrugated metal for the roof of this building.”
The whole family have been involved in the building of the kiosk, with eldest son Isaac devising a trolley made from branches with empty containers for wheels.
Using old Mary’s Meals sacks among other things, they drag sacks of muddy clay back to their house, add water and slap it onto the walls for it to dry in place.
Life is hard, but they are determined to survive and make a living for themselves.
“I hope the best for all the schoolchildren and my own children in the future, especially through education. I wish that all my children continue with their schools, finish their studies and get good jobs,” Margaret said.
“My only worry is that from the way I am struggling now, I might be unable to sustain them through school. I will struggle and look for help where I can and do what I can to support them.”
With your help, families like Margaret’s can look forward to a better, brighter future. They are willing to work hard and do what is necessary to provide for each other and all they need is a little support, which makes the contribution of Mary’s Meals so valuable.