Linah Mwende: From down in the dumps to seventh heaven
Linah Mwende hails from the Mukuru kwa Ruben informal settlement where residents cling on to available means of survival like a thin thread. Sometimes the thread succumbs to the heavy load of dependency from the residents, causing them to fall right back into the raw struggle of rummaging through mud to eke a living.
As a resident of the Mukuru informal settlement, Linah’s thread tore when she needed it the most. On 10 September 2020, Linah gave birth at the maternity clinic of the Ruben Centre to a baby boy. After receiving maternal attention, was released by the maternity clinic to go home.
Upon her arrival at her home, Linah was engulfed in utter shock and disbelief to find her husband gone with all the house belongings. The only items which Linah could claim were the clothes covering her and her 4 year old child’s backs.
Although weakened by the unbelievable spectacle before her, she gathered the strength to return to the Ruben Centre and seek for help. She urgently needed food and a house, with a means to pay.
“Given that the suffering of people is disturbing, my fulfillment comes from knowing and seeing the impact of efforts from the social unit in helping others,” averred Magdalene Njenga, a social worker at the Ruben Centre.
The social department of the Ruben Centre shouldered the responsibility of providing Linah with food and beddings which would ease her stay at her previous house. However, things did not go on smoothly as her newborn child contracted serious pneumonia, prompting her return to the social department of the Ruben Centre.
The sick case of the child was referred by the social department to the Ruben Health Centre which furthered the referral to the Kenyatta National Hospital. The Ruben Centre Ambulance transported Linah and her baby to the Kenyatta National Hospital where the baby received medical attention for 3 weeks before being discharged.
Even after the baby was discharged, Linah still grappled with her inability to feed her children as a single mother of two boys. With nowhere to go for help, she came back to the Ruben Centre to seek assistance that would get her back on her feet.
“I had reached my end when I came to the Ruben Centre because I didn’t have an alternative,” Linah admitted.
Her plea did not fall of deaf ears as the social department which has empowered similar cases to hers, aimed at providing needful assistance within its reach. Social assistance was then mobilized towards assisting Linah, leading to her being supported with the causal placement of work at the Human Development and Skills Training Program (HDSTP) Unit.
Linah Mwende poses with a Kikoi she made during her placement at the HDSTP Unit of the Ruben Centre. Photo: Stephen Tengo
Her placement would enable her to support herself and her children. After five months, Linah’s baby is healthy and Linah is now able to support herself through paying rent in her newfound home. Even more, her first born child of 4 years got enrolled into the Ruben School as a PP1 joiner in January 2021.
“I am grateful for the help I received from the Ruben Centre as it has helped me to reduce my stress. I am okay and happy to see my first born child admitted in school.” said Linah.
With real life stories such as Linah’s, the Ruben Centre remains committed to being a liberating, compassionate and present partner in improving the dire state of residents from the Mukuru community. A just and empowered Mukuru community is possible.
Written by Stephen Tengo
Facilitated by Magdalene Njenga
Reviewed by Br. Constantine Sunday