Monicah’s Family, Kenya (FVP Story 2021.35)
How can you turn sadness into joy? Pain into strength? Fears into aspiration? Monicah’s Family Volunteers for Peace story has some answers.
Monicah is a single mother of three sons living in the slums of Mukuru Kwa Reuben in Nairobi, Kenya. She was chased out of her home 20 years ago for giving birth to only sons. She moved to Nairobi seeking out a way to make a living to support her sons. Although the slums are not an ideal place to live, with a high crime rate, few jobs, and poor access to housing and healthcare, with help, Monicah has found a way to make a living doing laundry and selling homemade detergent.
This year, Monicah and her three sons were introduced to the Family Volunteers for Peace initiative of Global Peace Women. She and her sons decided to help a neighbor, a mother with four children who recently gave birth. The family is living in a small single-room shack. Every day she goes out to find work with her youngest strapped to her back. If she is lucky, she can buy food to feed her children. On hard days, they manage with one small meal.
“FVP has equipped me and my sons with vital knowledge on peace within the family and how to volunteer our time and resources for the comfort of others, however little,” said Monicah. She and her sons gathered together 1,000 kshs and bought maize flour, cooking oil, sugar, and rice. Monicah also donated a liter of detergent that she made. Her sons carried the food and detergent on their visit to the neighbor’s family.
The visit moved her sons. They began talking about collecting books, shoes, and clothes they had outgrown that they could deliver to families in their neighborhood. They even began to talk about getting friends to join the efforts. Through the experience, Monicah decided, “I’ll not allow the story of my life to weigh me down. Rather, I’ll use it to inspire and give hope to the lives of women and families in similar situations.”
“[Family Volunteers for Peace ] has enabled us as a family to get closer together and reflect about the predicament of others; our personal daily challenges notwithstanding. Through this, we remember and renew our commitment to serve and help others. It is psychologically fulfilling to know that by volunteering in my small way, a life is being changed somewhere; one at a time, little by little,” reflected Monicah’s son.
Monicah’s family reminds us of the infinite power inherent in each of us to make the world a better, peaceful place. They show us that service, however small, can turn our challenges into opportunities, and help others do the same.