Giving Hope For The Future
Mary’s Meals has lifted two brothers from near starvation to academic achievement
Helping Hand Appeal 2018
We first met twins Anthony and Aggrey, who live in the Eldoret region of Kenya, in 2017. The boys lived alone, in a singleroom house, after their mum had to travel to Sudan to get work. They haven’t seen her face-to-face since 2015.
Fending for themselves, the boys sell fruit and vegetables to make ends meet, but life is tough and sometimes they can barely feed themselves.
Living in an area that is rife with economic deprivation, support was hard to come by. Although their mum tried to send money home, it was difficult, as finding trusted methods of transporting the small amounts of cash was hard.
Speaking at the time, the boys said they were sad not to see their mum, but they understood why she had to go. In Kenya, people often have to go to extreme lengths to gain work, and long periods away from home are not unusual. Their sadness over not having a mum nearby was mixed with pragmatism, and understanding that she had very little choice in the matter.
It meant every day was a struggle. Before Mary’s Meals came along, the boys would spend their mornings working in their garden patch, but then with no food to make lunch, their energy levels would be low and they would struggle to do anything else. The garden is their pride and joy, as well as a source of food and income, so every minute they had was devoted to working there.
Although that dedication did help them to eat a little and make a meagre sum of money, there were also negatives.
It made them a target for thieves, who would steal the crops for themselves. Being exhausted with so little to eat, the boys simply couldn’t stay awake to keep an eye on the garden during the night. Life was hard and there wasn’t much hope to come by.
Thieves targeted the garden as the boys were too tired to stay awake