Kenya: A mother’s journey to protecting her family’s health

A mother’s journey to protecting her family’s health

April 21, 2025

A mother’s journey to protecting her family’s health

April 21, 2025

Furaha, 32, has five daughters and one son, and is pregnant with her seventh child. In 2019, when World Renew and local partner ADS Pwani began a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health program in her community, Furaha did not see the usefulness of the program, but today, she is grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.

Furaha had her first four children at home and would be tasked with caring for the baby immediately after giving birth. By the time each child was one week old she was feeding them porridge. But those practices changed thanks to all she learned through the MNCH program. Furaha learned about the benefits of giving birth at a healthcare facility and the opportunity doing so offered to ensure she and her baby would be cared for by a health professional in the crucial days following birth when many maternal and infant deaths occur. She also learned about the importance of regular prenatal checkups and says thanks to the regular checkups and use of prenatal vitamins she did not experience the low energy she did with her first four pregnancies. And she learned about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of an infant’s life.

“When I visit the clinic for checkups, there’s a lot of learning, and there are a lot of benefits,” said Furaha. “As a pregnant woman, I now know the importance of eating green vegetables. That was stressed at the health facility. And because of the difficulties in accessing such from the market, I was able to do facilitation in this project to put up a kitchen garden in my backyard.”

In addition to setting up the kitchen garden, Furaha said she has made other important changes that are benefitting the health of her family, thanks to what she learned through the MNCH program. “I have also been advised to maintain proper hygiene and sanitation. And with that, there are several approaches that I have engaged in, including using a dish rack and hanging my clothing on a line rather than leaving them on the ground to dry.” Furaha said that in the past her children often got bitten by insects that crawled into the clothing while drying on the ground. Furaha also began composting and ensuring her family implemented proper hygiene practices, like washing hands before eating and handling food.

Through the program, the young mother was also able to join a Village Savings and Loan Association and said, “This has given me some economic empowerment.” She has hopes to invest in improvements to her family’s farm.

When asked if she is willing to share the knowledge that she has gained through the MNCH program, she responded, “Yes, and I am already teaching my daughters everything that I learned.”

Thank you for your Women of Hope gift of support. Generosity like yours allows World Renew and our partners to provide new and expectant mothers, like Furaha, with the training and support the training and support they need to help their families become healthy and more resilient.

When asked if she is willing to share the knowledge that she has gained through the MNCH program, she responded, “Yes, and I am already teaching my daughters everything that I learned.”