Page 62 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 5

BUSINESS

Content of the toto care box

Speaking with the Toto Care Box Africa Trust team at their Nairobi office was such a fellowship of love and
life. The fragrance of the Father's love was present and every heart was filled with freshness and a renewed
commitment to the heart beat of the Father as regards the ministry of love and compassion to the needy
and the less privileged in our society.
You will love this beautiful team and their love for God and humanity.
By: Msingi Afrika Magazine Team

e sat with Lucy very marginalized areas. We and Angela and I were hustling,
Wambui Kaigutha, went to West Pokot to a very re- selling meat and cookies, just
Public Health Con- mote village called Marich and trying to get by. I was at home
Wsultant Specialist, there was this lady who lives in one depressed morning be-
Founder and Director of Toto a very dry area, in a manyatta. cause I couldn’t find a job and
Care Box Africa Trust, her sister Her baby was just about a week on Facebook I saw this arti-
Angela Kavila-Kwinga, former old and she had five other chil- cle, “Why Finnish babies sleep
Pharmacist and now Operations dren. The situation was very in cardboard boxes.” It talked
Officer at the Trust and fellow dire. They were basically ask- about how during the Second
Trustees Jacqueline Wairimu ing for food and water and I had World War, the Finnish govern-
Gachihi and Helen Wanja Kar- signed a form saying I would not ment introduced a simple box
iuki. We listened to them talk give any incentives to bias my with a lot of items for the mom
about this amazing initiative that research. In that whole crowd I and the newborn, because there
is not only restoring dignity to was the only Kenyan and I could were really high mortality rates
moms and newborns and their understand and communicate for mothers and newborns. It
families, but also contributing to with them and I remember leav- talked about how it has become
saving lives. They have the ten- ing there with a huge tug in my such a part of Finnish culture
derest hearts for one of the most heart and with tears in my eyes, that every mom gets a box un-
delicate of missions. wishing I could do more for this til today. So Finnish babies
lady, considering their impover- have basically been sleeping in
Lucy: Where did we begin with ished setting. cardboard boxes for about 80
Toto Care Box? I’d say 2011, I I went back to the UK, finished, years now and because of this
was interning as a Public Health and came back home. Ange- box and their advanced health-
Researcher for University of la had come back before me. care system, Finland now has
Sheffield. I was pursuing my When I returned, I was told I was the lowest deaths in moms and
Masters’ in Public Health and highly qualified but that I didn’t newborns. I was just like, ‘Wow,
I was conducting a study on have experience. I was so sure this is so cool!’ Considering that
how carers identify and man- I would come and get a big UN in Kenya we lose approximate-
age illnesses in children under job. That didn’t happen and so I ly 17 mothers every day during
the age of five, especially in the was doing a lot of volunteering childbirth. That’s a 17-seater

62 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika