Hello everyone I want to announce the sad news.
On Wednesday we lost our house mother Elizabeth Mumbi. Elizabeth was an alcoholic lady and a mother of three, Patrick Wakabu, Andrew Kiarie and Edith Wanja. We met Elizabeth some few months ago after identifying The two boys in Karen collecting scrap metal tosell. They were doing this so as to feed their little sister who had no one to take care of her ..After finding out that the mother was an alcoholic in Saigon village we took the option of having her help us in the house, cleaning the house and cooking and generally helping Mary in taking care of the house.
The first time we took care she became intolerable with the drinking behavior. More so not even able to take care of her children even after offering her a job. With the intervention of a close woman to us called TATA.. We asked her to stop working until she changed her drinking habit; we continued to take care of the innocent boys who are now in school.
After observation we decided to take her back, because finally our ultimate goal was to help her take care of her children.Elizabeth had an outstanding character of respect, punctuality and a very hard working when she is not drunk. After the second chance she was really changed she always did cook for her children, but later afterwards she goes drinking till late in the night. The other thing due to her reputable behavior in drinking none of her relatives cares and minds about her, they don’t speak at all with her. From Sunday she started feeling bad but she never told any one apart from a close friend whom they drink together Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd was a public holiday so she was off from work.
On Tuesday evening we went out for a meeting Elijah peter and I. We were doing some planning in our work and thus choose to be away. On Wednesday Mary called to inform us that Elizabeth was sick ironically at the same time we were discussing about her three children and we had to stop.
We came back to Karen, looking for a vehicle to get to the house and get her. A friend of mine who has a fleet of taxis in Karen always gives one old car to us when he is not using it. We rushed to the village and fond her very weak though acting as not very sick, her eyes were very white, we went to Dagoretti market as that’s where the nearest dispensary is. Immediately the doctor examined her he gave a referral letter to a big hospital. On our way to another hospital the front tire went flat.
While changing the tire Elizabeth asked for water two times and that was he last time she spoke. The three of us didn’t believe that she was dead wecontinued to the hospital with our spirits up. On the way to Kenyatta national hospital which is about 20kms another accident happened when the car suddenly lost it brakes, I almost ran into the back of the vehicle in front of me but miraculously I was able to control the car and we landed into a ditch which was not too deep. Not one of us was injured Mary, another woman and me and still Elizabeth was inside but up to this time thought we still had a chance. Across the road a guy who does taxi business saw us, other two people who were inside a matatu also saw the accident and coincidentally they new in they all came to our rescue, a big crowd turned as well and in the process others stole my phone all the money we had.
We switched cars very fast, our car got damaged the whole left hand side, arriving to the hospital that’s when the reality hit us that Elizabeth had passed long time ago. We ended in a police station told the whole story and with Gods favor the police gave a no police case letter and we ok her to the morgue.Now we face a very big obligation, first we have three orphans with us.
Fortunately our friend Kate will take the young girl Edith to her girls program. We are arranging on how to bury her the entire family unfortunately they are drunkards most of them. It’s turning to be so had to arrange things with them. Right now we as an organization are in a crises, we have to pay for the repairs of the car that we had borrowed which is costing 7000ksh and all the expenses which were incurred in the whole confusion that night.Right now am borrowing money to take care of some things which have to be done as well as help arrange the funeral. It’s a very trying moment with us now and we just trust God to show us the way.
In this village the trend of life is always like that people die for no big reason, people hate each other because of so many problems, when one is sick in the bed no one bothers, We stand in the middle of a village surrounded with hopelessness that day when Elizabeth died the closest neighbors came looking for another guy who owns a pickup truck in the village he happens to be the only means to transport incase of emergencies.
All I ask at the moment is to pray for the left three kids.
Last month when we paid Elizabeth she went and bought Christmas clothes for the kids this is the greatest thing that she ever did for her children of late she was improving on her love to the children. Many others die from minor sicknesses with without love this will be happening every time .It all faces us now as an existing community based organization, serving the children as well as the community immediate to us.
Pray with us.
Love James