A Kericho mother of seven who lost her two children due to malnutrition and poverty-related challenges is appealing to well-wishers to help mitigate the challenges.
Maureen Tonui, 24, who is married to a deaf and dumb man who ekes out a living through herding other people’s livestock, lives in a mabati-roofed, mud-walled house in Kapsembe village in Bechulelat sub-location in Ainamoi sub-county within Kericho.
Maureen gave birth to triplets last year on 28 November, but one of the triplets, a girl, died on 2 May this year while her second-born child, a boy aged seven years, passed on 6 May 2025.
Maureen cannot make ends meet for herself and her other surviving children. When KNA visited the home on Thursday, which overlooks River Kipchorian, a heavy cloud of grief hung around the homestead, with several relatives spotted huddled in groups around it.
Tonui was busy inside breastfeeding one of her restless infants as her sister-in-law, identified as Mama Anna Chirchir, helped to cradle her other crying baby to sleep. Her other three daughters, who had walked three kilometers from their primary school, milled around the kitchen fireplace, waiting patiently as a meal of maize boiled slowly, while across from it was their nighttime makeshift resting place made of old, worn-out rugs placed on the ground.
Maureen, a class six dropout, tearfully narrated that her husband, Nicholas Tonui, 28, who was born deaf and dumb, was the breadwinner of the family, working as a herdsman to fend for his large family.
She revealed that during her last clinic visit on March 28 this year at Mogoiwet dispensary, her triplets at five months of age were found to weigh 4.5, 4.3, and 5 kilograms, respectively. Her next appointment is scheduled for May 28.
Her surviving two infants, now nine months old, are yet to sit on their own as required of a child’s developmental milestone.
“I am not able to produce adequate breast milk because food is hard to come by. My babies are underweight to the extent they cannot sit on their own as required in relation to the child developmental milestones. My other surviving children, all girls, are aged 6, 5, and 3 years and attend Kipchorian Primary School. They are also not in good health,” said Maureen.
The distraught mother narrated the circumstances that led to the death of her two children, who died four days apart, with each one of them suddenly falling sick and dying as the family made preparations to take them to the nearest medical facility for treatment.
“I am a mother of seven children, but I have lost two of them. After walking for two hours with labour pains, on arrival at Kipsamoi Trading Centre, I boarded a boda boda, which ferried me to Fort Tenan Hospital, where I gave birth to triplets who are all girls on November 28 last year. At the time of their birth, the triplets weighed 3 kilograms, 2 kilograms and one kilogram, respectively, but we were referred to Kericho County Referral Hospital as two of my babies were underweight. We stayed at Kericho County Referral Hospital for three months before we were discharged. I feed my babies white porridge mixed with milk because I am not able to produce enough breast milk. My husband’s job as a herdsman brings little cash, and he is not able to meet our basic needs. On April 30, one of the triplets developed a fever coupled with vomiting, and we took her to Merto dispensary, where she was treated and given drugs, but her condition failed to improve, and we decided to take her to Fort Tenan Hospital for medical attention. She sadly passed away on May 2 as we walked to get a boda boda rider to carry us to the medical facility,” narrated Maureen.
Her second-born, who was a pupil at Kipchorian Primary School aged seven years, was the only son in the family but passed on at home after complaining of chest pains before travel arrangements could be finalized for him to be taken to the hospital, a tearful Tonui narrated.
She pleaded for assistance in the form of food donations to address malnutrition among her surviving children as well as for herself now that she was a lactating mother.
Mama Chirchir pointed at two dirt graves marked with wooden sticks marking the last resting place for her young niece and nephew, revealing that they were laid to rest without any coffins and no last respects, as the family is too poor to afford any of these.
She said she was worried about the mental and physical well-being of the couple.
The family can be reached at 0794-356-635.
By Sarah Njagi
