A physically challenged mother of 11 children has reason to smile after a Seventh Day church Based Organization, Adventist Rescue Team Nakuru, donated to her a wheel chair, food items worth Sh70,000 and offered a roof over her head.
Esther Pendo, aged about 50 was born with physically challenged legs and went to live in the streets from an early age in Likoni, Mombasa County. She bore all her children after repeated sexual abuse while living on the streets.
Pendo said she “got tired” of living and getting abused in the streets, and travelled to Kisii a few years ago because she heard that the county had plenty of food.
She bore the first nine children in Mombasa before travelling to Kisii through assistance from several well-wishers including motorists. She begged for lifts from different motorist who dropped her as far as they were going, so long as it was in the direction to Kisii.
According to Pendo, each motorist got her closer to her destination which she finally reached, the streets of Kisii town. She left all her nine children behind, in Mombasa.
She said she bore her other two children while in Kisii, after equally being abused in the busy town which is now a thriving 24/7 economy, save for the current disruption by the Covid-19 restrictions put up by the government.
It is while in Keroka area in the outskirts of Kisii town one day that she was found by the well-wishers who had travelled from Nakuru, the organization’s headquarters, to deliver donations to another disabled person.
Dr. Walker Siringi, a member of the rescue team and a lecturer at the University of Eldoret narrated how Pendo’s plight attracted sympathy of the members of his team though they were on another mission to rescue a different needy case in the area months ago.
The leader of the team, Samson Osano said the organisation which was formed in 2004 has members drawn from several seventh day churches in Nakuru but assists needy persons from around the country.
He appealed to well-wishers to support the organization to help it reach out to many more people especially during this season of the global pandemic.
Kisii Group leader Edna Ateka said the beneficiary was also provided with a room at the Daraja Mbili area where she now resides with three of her children, one of the nine left behind having travelled to Kisii and joined her. Ateka volunteered to be paying rent for Pendo’s new abode.
And while appealing to Kenyans to reach out to the needy during this time of pandemic, Kisii South Conference Special needs ministries coordinator Pastor Lameck Ateka who hosts the rescue team when the visit Kisii said the team had done a commendable job which deserved to be enumerated by other members of the society.
The church group donations can be channeled through till number 171110.
By Jane Naitore and Clinton Nyamumbo
