Nairobi: A Kericho mother of seven, Maureen Tonui, is making a heartfelt appeal for assistance after losing two of her children due to malnutrition and poverty-related challenges. Maureen, 24, resides in a mud-walled, mabati-roofed house in Kapsembe village, Bechulelat sub-location, Ainamoi sub-county, with her husband Nicholas Tonui, who is deaf and mute and works as a herdsman.
According to Kenya News Agency, Maureen gave birth to triplets on November 28 of last year. However, tragedy struck when one of the triplets, a girl, died on May 2 this year, followed shortly by the death of her second-born son on May 6. The family struggles to survive, with Maureen unable to provide for herself and her remaining children. When KNA visited the household, they found a scene of grief, with relatives gathered in sorrow while Maureen tended to her infants.
Maureen, a class six dropout, shared her struggles with providing for her family. Her husband, Nicholas, is the primary breadwinner, but his job as a herdsman brings in insufficient income. On her last clinic visit in March, her triplets were found to be underweight, and her surviving two infants, now nine months old, are not meeting developmental milestones due to inadequate nutrition.
She recounted the heart-wrenching circumstances of her children's deaths, expressing her inability to produce enough breast milk and the family's dire financial situation. Her eldest son, a seven-year-old pupil, passed away before they could seek medical help, leaving the family devastated.
Maureen is pleading for food donations to combat malnutrition among her children and herself, as she is a lactating mother. Her sister-in-law, Mama Anna Chirchir, highlighted the family's poverty, pointing to simple dirt graves of the deceased children, a testament to their inability to afford proper burials.
The family remains hopeful for the support of well-wishers to alleviate their dire circumstances and prevent further tragedy.