Ababu Peter Khasiya was born in Kakamega in the year 1958. He grew up in a family of five, where he was the fifth and final child. His formal education began at a local school but ceased abruptly when he reached class three. His father, who relied entirely on small-scale subsistence farming, could no longer raise the required school fees to keep him in the classroom. After leaving school, he remained at home to look for ways to assist his parents. He spent his youth performing manual labor and casual farm chores for neighbors to get a little money. He later got married and had ten children. He went through a difficult time when three of his children died, leaving him to raise the remaining seven by doing small casual jobs. His seven children managed only basic education, with some dropping out in class six and others in class seven before remaining at home without any stable employment. His wife stays at home while his children remain mostly jobless, except for one daughter who moved to Nairobi to seek casual work. To provide for his family, he works through the cold nights as a security guard, dressed in a worn-out uniform. He has no house of his own and lives on an open verandah in Alkarim, where he keeps his clothes and cooks his meals. Before obtaining help, buying food was an impossible task that regularly left his family sleeping on empty stomachs. The meagre earnings from his night shifts could not cover rent or reliable sustenance for his household. His severe housing crisis and lack of food caught the attention of a local community member, who forwarded his name to the team, leading to an official home assessment and his subsequent enrollment into the Mama Ibado Seniors Programme in 2021. He now receives a regular supply of four bags of flour, rice, two kilograms of sugar, milk, cooking oil, tea leaves, and salt. "Having a guaranteed supply of food has completely changed my daily life, as I no longer face the constant stress of sleeping on an empty stomach." This nutritional assistance has allowed him to divert his small security wages toward supporting his family back home. The heavy burden of hunger has been lifted, restoring comfort to his advanced years. He offers prayers of deep blessings and gratitude to the organization for stepping in during his lowest moments. He credits the program with rescuing him from extreme deprivation and giving him a sense of belonging. However, spending his old age sleeping on an open verandah while working grueling night shifts presents severe safety and health risks. He requires urgent donor assistance to secure a proper house and live out his retirement with basic human comfort.
