A Dubai based couple has launched a relief food programme targeting the poor and vulnerable families in Kilifi county, hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Through the Rach Family Trust, the couple Nabina Bishwakarma and her fiancé Ravi Rach, seek to help feed 45 needy families in Mtwapa Township.
The relief materials distributed on Saturday contained maize and wheat flour, sugar, tea leaves, rice, beans and cooking oil.
The 45 have been identified through a research done by locals led by Suleiman Ngala, who represents the Rach Family Trust in Kenya.
Ngala said the beneficiaries were identified through village elders, adding that orphans, disabled, elderly and widows were prioritized when searching for the needy families that qualify for assistance.
Among the beneficiaries who would be fed on a monthly basis even after the coronavirus pandemic ends, are a woman who was hit by stroke and a fisherman whose wife died, leaving her with eight children and has also lost his fishing job due to the pandemic.
Kadii Kithi, whose actual age remains unknown, suffered a stroke three years ago, leaving her 62-year-old husband, Charo Karisa to fend for the family. They also live with their two grandchildren, whose parents have died.
Kithi used to do casual jobs at a research agency under the ministry of agriculture in Kilifi but it all ended after she suffered a stroke.
Karisa, a mason, has found work difficult to come by since the coronavirus hit the country forcing them go for days without a meal.
