I met Linda Akoth one afternoon. In Kenya’s Luo tribe, their last name has to do with something about your day of birth; e.g. Juma means born on Sunday, Otieno means born at night. Akoth means born during a storm. How appropriate a name considering her family’s situation.
Both of Linda’s parents had died of AIDS. She and her youngest brother were born with AIDS. At the age of twelve, she was left to raise her three siblings. Her aunt had taken the four of them to live with her in her 12×12 one-room house with mud walls and a tin roof. However, her aunt worked as a prostitute some fifty miles away. She would leave for two to three months at a time to go to Lake Victoria and see fishermen.
The village where Linda lived was called Lunga. Lunga in Swahili means “Upside Down.” I was told that the name came from so many orphans in the area. So many, in fact, that the majority of households were children rearing children. The oldest child became the parental authority. This is the “norm.”
“Upside Down Town” — I was told that the name came from so many orphans in the area. So many, in fact, that the majority of households were children rearing children. The oldest child became the parental authority. This is the “norm.”
Linda found herself in that role, raising her three siblings. I entered her little house that had four empty feed bags that served as their beds. I looked in the corner and saw two small cloth bags. One had two handfuls of rice. The other had a handful of corn.
I asked Linda if that was all the food that the four of them had. She nodded her head yes. I then asked, “What happens then if your aunt doesn’t show up soon?”
She looked down and responded, “Then we will die.”
I went to the village and found some food to take them. I then found a pastor who had already adopted four children to see what he could do. I shared with him Linda’s story and the need for these children to have a home and supervision. I also shared about K4K and how the feeding program works. The pastor used the center to feed all of the children he had taken in. He shared how the food made such a difference in their lives, not only physically, but it also helped them in school.
He shared an African saying, “You can’t hear well when your stomach is empty.”
