the mothers of Kenya thriving in the face of Covid-19 and climate change

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Agnes is a mother of one from Kenya who became the main breadwinner in her family after her husband Jeremiah was injured in a work accident and couldn’t find a new job due to Covid-19. 

“My husband used to provide for us with his job on security patrol on a ranch,” said Agnes. “He was coming home from work one morning when a buffalo chased him. We had to resort to asking for help because his arm had been incapacitated and he couldn’t work. That is when God brought us the Red Cross programme.” 

Agnes was supported through the Kenyan Red Cross’s cash for health emergency project, which is sponsored by the British Red Cross, and supports new and expectant mothers. She received 2,034 shillings a month (about £13.46) over a 10-month period, choosing to save up and put the money towards her own business.

“I kept saving and I was able to buy three goats,” she said. “It even helped me with my child when he got sick – I was able to go to the clinic, buy him fruit and nourishing meals.”

 

Empowering new mothers

Agnes, who now runs the business with Jeremiah, is just one of the 915 expectant and new mothers that this financial support from the Kenyan Red Cross has reached. 

“I am a farmer, a livestock keeper and a businesswoman,” said Agnes. “My business entails selling fruits and vegetables and I also farm maize and beans. As for livestock, I keep cows, goats and chickens.” 

Being able to start her own business has changed Agnes’s life.

“I used to sleep hungry,” she said. “After giving birth I came back and had to eat raw beans, becoming weaker and weaker. But then the Red Cross came and empowered me. I was taught that a woman should be self-reliant. So that’s what I’m doing.”

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Coping with climate related disasters

As well as the health and economic impacts of Covid-19, some areas of Kenya are seriously affected by climate change. 

“The kind of rains that we get are not like they were previously,” explained Evelyn, a project officer for the Kenyan Red Cross. “Farmers are not able to do the farming, or to get enough produce. When it does rain it gets really flooded in this area, and people can’t access important amenities like hospitals because the infrastructure gets destroyed.”

This makes initiatives like the cash assistance programmes even more vital. 

“This kind of initiative has actually been able to transform the lives of not only the 915 women that we are supporting, but actually a bigger number, because we are supporting households that could have five or seven members of the family being supported through the money they are getting,” said Evelyn. 

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