The COVID-19 outburst has laid limelight on the economic disparities and the delicate social safety that leaves marginalized communities to bear the brunt with or without a crisis. While the virus infects people from all walks of life, low-income families have been the most affected due to lack of access to basic needs.
KWAHO has been at the forefront to avail social assistance programs to provide marginalized communities with basic supplies and relevant information to cope with the crisis. The story below is one of the success stories gathered from the field when while implementing a COVID-19 response program sponsored by UNICEF through WASH Alliance.
“Imagine giving birth to a bouncy and ever happy baby boy, holding him in your arms, watching him smile in his sleep then the two months down the line watch cerebral palsy day by day snatch the life out of his limbs. That is exactly what happened to me” recalls Mercy Wanjiru mum to the ailing now 5-years-old, Ezan Mwangi
Caption: Mercy being handed a bar soap and a household handwashing facility during the distribution activity at Mukuru Kayaba, a slum East of Nairobi
Mercy says ever since the diagnosis, their life has been In and out of hospitals, leaving her heavily burdened with hospital bills she’s unable to pay as the condition left her no choice but to leave her work to take care of her son.
The Covid-19 pandemic made it even worse for them as the economic crisis has left her on her knees. The boy moves by crawling with his belly which poses the risk of touching infected areas which forces his mom to change his clothes and immediately wash them together with his hands as often as possible. This had laid a heavy burden on her as where she leaves there’s no piped water therefore forcing her to buy it from the vendors.
“I was really happy to be among those who got the household handwashing facility and bar soaps from KWAHO . Right now, I have enough bar soaps to last us a month and a decent handwashing facility where Ezan can wash his hands. These donations will go a long way for us. It will help me save enough to cater for other needs.” She says.
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