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| Purity for the elderly foundation CEO helps Ms Zipporah Nyawira to seat on a stool outside her house.- Photo By Faith Nyamai |
BY FAITH NYAMAI
@faithnyamai
On a day when Pope
Francis emphatically talked on how to embrace the poor and showing compassion
to the vulnerable people in the society, a granny ma in Amboni Village, Nyeri
County has less than 72 hours to vacate a house she has lived for 15 years,
after the landlord notified her to relocate.
The 81 year- old woman
Zipporrah Nyawira has been living in the house with her eight
grandchildren orphaned by her daughters and her 46 year old son since 2000.
According to Ms
Nyawira, the land lord visited them on November 20 this month and informed them
that she, her eight grandchildren and her son must relocate within 10 days as
he has sold the parcel of land where the house the family has been calling
their home.
The landlord also told
them that he has plans to demolish the house to allow the new owner take control
of the land.
“I do not know where to
relocate to neither do I know where to take all these grandchildren I am their
father and at the same time I am their mother,” she emotionally told the Nation
yesterday during an interview.
The now helpless granny
man who can barely move around to feed her family except by supporting herself
with a stick has been depending on well-wishers to educate her grandchildren
who are aged between eight and 17 years-old.
His third born son who
is also the only living engages himself in casual jobs in the neighbourhood to
enable him get food for the mother and the grandchildren.
According to the son,
Mr James Maina, 46,the family had been moving from one rental house to
another for many years because they did not own any land until they moved in to
the house where they have lived in good relationship with the land lord.
“We had been living so
peacefully in the three roomed wooden house paying a monthly rent of Sh 200 per
room, but with time the structures got destroyed forcing my mother to share one
room with all the eight children, four boys and four girls left by my deceased
siblings.” he said.
He added that what
pains them most is because a month ago, they approached the landlord to allow
them allow non-governmental organizations to help them repair the house because
the house was leaking.
According to the Purity
for the Elderly Foundation, an NGO based in Nyeri Ms Joyce Wanjiku Kairo the
organization spend Sh 52,000 to repair the house for the family.
“ Before we did the repairs,
the house was leaking and we had to buy double decker beds, beddings,
mattresses, irons sheets and other roofing materials and repaired the
house to give the granny ma and her grandchildren to live in a decent house,”
said Ms Kairo.
However when reached by
the Nation via mobile Phone, the landlord Mr Simoni Murange said he sold the
land on November 11 this month the new owner have him one month to remove
all his structures.
“ I also informed the
son that I have sold the land and so they should vacate to allow the new owner
to take possession of the land” Said Mr Murange.
Mr Murange denied that
he had given the family 10 days to vacate saying that they have until December
11 to relocate.
This sounding like one
of the poor people that Pope Francis referred to as he addressed slum dwellers
in Kangemi .Pope Francis condemned denial of basic services to the poor.
The family is now left
in the hands of well-wishers to help them find a new home.
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