This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
On a fateful day in May this year, 22-year-old James Mwendia lost his mother, forcing him to drop out of school and eventually end up on the streets of Kiamtugu market. However, his life took a dramatic turn when Kirinyaga Woman Representative Wangui Ngirichi spotted him in a wheelchair during a function where she was donating water pipes to women groups from Ngariama Ward.
Ngirichi, moved by Mwendia's plight, decided to build him a modest place to live in. The three-roomed stone house, which was handed over to Mwendia in a ceremony attended by area residents, is a testament to the Woman Rep's kindness. The house, which will also be connected to piped water and a modern toilet, will be equipped with electricity in two days.
On top of the new house, Mwendia will receive a Sh5000 monthly stipend for upkeep. The beneficiary, who is the last born in a family of five children, did not get any formal education due to poverty. Ngirichi's gesture has given Mwendia a new lease on life, and he is now off the streets.
"I pushed through the crowd to have a word with him, I empathised with him because the condition had severely attacked his vital body parts. I decided to build for him a modest place to live in," Ngirichi recalled.
