Goats for widows

The ongoing Corona virus has caused women in Northern Kenya much pain after rendering them widows when their husbands succumbed to it . We identified 160 widows without any source of income who had become the sole breadwinners of their families. This was entirely the responsibility of their husbands before they passed away. Food insecurity has been a problem since then for these families and now, with the virus prevailing, starvation is their reality. Hence:

• These widows rise very early in the morning, leaving their young children on their own, and with nothing to eat, in search of firewood in the thorny, snake-infested bushes. Since the markets have been shut down because of the pandemic, they trek long distances under the scorching sun looking for buyers. On their return, they can often only afford to buy a kilo of dry corn if they were lucky and sold the firewood.
• The mothers later encounter the sad and vulnerable look on their children’s faces; children who have had nothing to eat all day and eagerly await their mothers’ return, hoping they would bring home something to eat. The children continue to suffer, as is evident from their sunken eyes, emaciated limbs, brittle and thinning hair, prominent ribs, severe weight loss and muscle wastage, changes in hair color, which causes them to be constantly irritable.
• The widows lack the opportunity to provide for their families. Unlike their husbands, who could travel far away for days in search of labor jobs, as women they are mandated to provide adequate maternal and childcare back at home as well as to take care of the elderly.
• Poverty and hunger have forced these widows to make desperate decisions such as marrying off their young daughters to older men so that these men can provide for them. Their sons are now vulnerable to radicalized groups such as Alshabaab, that promise them good lives.