Mercy Jepkemei from Emgwen Constituency, Nandi County has decided to hug a tree to lift the voice of those who are suffering in abusive marriages and toxic relationships.
According to her, hugging the tree is a story that will bring attention to everyone involved in torturing marriages or relationships.
As she endures the scorching sun in her 72-hour challenge, hundreds of the residents milled around her at the Nandi Garden in Kapsabet, listening to her voice of reason and resolute passion in the fight against gender-based violence in the community.
Mercy gave a glimpse of her life dominated by suffering and lack of parental love. She grew up under an unstable family, where her parents engaged in frequent fights, and the mother abandoned her with four other siblings at home. She says things were not rosy at home as they were left under the mercies of their father.
Mercy stated that alcoholism had taken a toll on him and he abdicated his parental duties including providing upkeep and school fees for them.
In fact, she blames alcohol as the main contributor of domestic violence in Kenyan communities.
Fortunately, she completed her secondary school education in 2019 and fully shouldered parental tasks to take care of her siblings. Finding food was a critical problem, and Mercy went an extra mile to work as tea picker in the neighborhoods, spend nights as a watchdog for hotels to earn little money to sustain the family.
Mercy, 24, is said to have borne the brunt of broken marriage, toxic families and drug abuse. She graciously shares her story, to create awareness against gender-based violence, and demonstrated by spending chilling nights and blistering days in a tree-hugging challenge for 72 hours which is expected to end on January 17, 2026
She said that no one should sympathize with her, but she is doing the Lord’s work in bringing to life that GBV is real and detrimental to not only the children but also the family, a basic institution that forms a society.
Mercy’s action is expected to bring a unique way of ending domestic violence rooted in Kenyan homes both in villages and urban setups.
Many spent last night supporting action with social media platforms flooded with encouragement messages.
By Geoffrey Satia
