A 74-year-old granny at Muyugi village, Marakusi sub location in Lugari Sub County who is surviving in abject poverty is appealing to well-wishers to come to her rescue after her name was struck from Inua Jamii programme.
Speaking to West Media, Mrs Salvider Khalechi, who stays with her disabled daughter, Nancy Shikhovolo and five grandchildren, said she received twice only the Shs 4000, bi-monthly stipend, under the Older Person Cash Transfer (OPCT) since she was enrolled into the programme in 2015.
The granny recalled how she was shocked by news on her ‘death’ when, through her caregiver, she sought to find out why she was not receiving the stipend.
“News about my ‘demise’ shocked me, my daughter and grandchildren,” said Khalechi, adding efforts to reconcile her records with the programme’s national office in Nairobi was yet to bear positive results.
“It is now one and half years since the mess was created,” she added.
According to the granny, the husband, Peter Shikhovolo, died under unclear circumstances while in Kakamega town in 1993.
“My husband lost his life in the hands of unknown gang in Kakamega town
while on his way to Ikolomani village,” she revealed.
On her part, Nancy, recounted her misery from the time she was chased by her in-laws after the death of her husband, with whom she had sired four children.
“I was forced to return to my ageing mother’s shanty where life has become unbearable,” she observed.
With the pangs of hunger threatening her and her family, some immediate neighbours who spoke to the press urged the national government, through the department of social services, to immediately restore Khalechi’s name on the Inua Jamii programme.
“At age 74, compounded by a disabled daughter, the granny lacks the energy to fend for the family,” noted Mr. Allbert Angolio, who disclosed that he was taking care of the fragile family of seven with little support from other neighbours.
Lugari Sub County Social Development Officer, Mr. Fredrick Okoth, confirmed the case.
He assured Khalechi’s family and members of the public the department was working on the issue.
“Once everything is in place she will receive all cash, including for the entire period when the
name inadvertently went missing from the elderly persons’ payroll,” said Okoth who expressed his apologies over the granny’s case.
