Page 64 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 5
P. 64
BUSINESS
Jacky: So now we have the tors and… shared her posts. Before we
boxes, and we’re looking to see We stood there and just watched knew it we were being called by
who we could help. Where I was this little baby who had passed different media houses. From
living, the lady who was helping away just before we got there those five boxes we have done
me clean the house, her name and I think for us that really 1,837 boxes so far. We have
was Lena, her daughter was was such a sobering moment; impacted more than 3,000 peo-
pregnant and was expecting to a reminder that this is not busi- ple as individuals, about five
have a baby so we thought, why ness-as-usual but that this was communities and it reached a
not start at home. We hadn’t told something that God wanted point where people wanted to
her, we just thought we would us to do and this is the conse- give and we opened up a lo-
surprise her with one box. quence of what happens when it cal crowd-funding account on
She called me one morning and doesn’t get done. We lose lives, M-Changa and we’ve raised al-
said, “I’m sorry I can’t come in to we lose moms, we lose babies most KES6 million (US$ 60,000)
work, my daughter was in labor in the process and families get so far and we’ve done a lot of
all night.” We all got into the car broken. For us that was such an grant writing… though we have
and went to Kenyatta Hospital. encounter. never won!
God has been super-faithful; we
Lucy: We were carrying all five Lucy: I think it was God saying have never lost a chance to give
boxes because we thought we that this is a matter of life and boxes. We gave the boxes as a
would give them out to other death. We were going to give pilot in Mukuru slum in partner-
women. boxes, but now we were arrang- ship with Lengo Medical clinic
ing a funeral. where one or two moms used to
Jacky: As we were parking, we come and give birth per month
called Lena so that we could find Jacky: We realized that be- and now with the boxes there
out where she was and she was cause Lena was a single moth- are about 70 that come to give
crying. And so we said, “Lena, er who had separated from her birth per month and it’s become
what’s wrong?” And she said, husband, she didn’t have any a full-blown maternity health
“The baby didn’t make it.” We land to bury her grand baby. So, center. We’ve partnered with
found a parking space and we we had to help her think through Dream Center and we’ve been
went upstairs. Before we gave how to get the death certificate giving them boxes for the HIV
any box, I think God wanted to and where else she could bury positive moms and we’ve part-
just put an image in our minds the baby. It was a full day and nered with Maisha Foundation
for what it would mean for us not we ended up giving the boxes to run by Chilean midwives. They
to do this. We found Lena and other moms. have a pregnancy crisis center
she kept insisting that we see for women in Kibra who are go-
the baby. The baby was gone Lucy: There was a lady called ing through domestic violence or
and we were all reluctant to, but Doris and she had two prema- incest and are refugees.
felt like we needed to. We stood ture babies, twins. That meant We wanted a program where
there and were encouraging she, her husband, the twins and someone would come and sup-
Lena and she was crying and their three-year-old were sleep- port us for five years, but that
we were crying and we looked ing in one bed and it’s as tiny as never happened. We’ve had
at this handsome, fully-formed you can imagine. We gave her people giving and we've also
baby boy who had died because two boxes and went with her had Nairobi Chapel and an or-
his mom was a young first-time and showed her how she could ganization called Tin Roof who
mom, about 23, and she was put the boxes on the bed. You help us with crowd funding in
ashamed of what she was go- could see how having the Toto and outside of the country. Now
ing through and even to her Care boxes for her twins com- it has morphed into a CSR solu-
own mom she couldn’t say that pletely changed her life, just to tion for a lot of corporates. We
she was in labor. As a result her bring that dignity back in terms partnered with Afristar, Absa
mom discovered very late and of newborn care for an extreme- Barclays, Transcentury, and
she ended up having obstructed ly needy mom. Buckles in the UK who have
labor and it was during a doc- Angie shared that story and an- been our biggest donors to date.
tors’ strike so there were no doc- other on Facebook and people The way this works is we map
64 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
