When they say, “tenda wema nenda zako,” you better believe it.
For many years, Kagia Samuel, a seasoned midwife, has been helping women deliver their babies for free. Most of the people she has helped never paid her, even when she asked for as little as Ksh 500.
Worse, some never returned her to thank her for her services.
For Kagia, she was just helping to save lives, and at least, this time around, her kindness has been rewarded.
A month ago, she helped two women deliver as usual. What she did not know was that her time to be celebrated had ripened as well-wishers who heard about the incident joined hands to build her a modern house.
On the eventful day, Kagia was going with her business when she heard that a woman was giving birth outside Kachai Dispensary since nurses had gone on a strike, demanding salary increment.
Kagai dropped everything and went to Kachai to help the woman whom she helped to deliver her baby safely.
“I found a crowd had gathered around the woman who was in pain. She delivered at around 5 pm and we took the baby to the hospital,” she explained.
As she was about to go back home, the area councilor, Rashid Kabuga, asked her to help another who was also facing the risk of giving birth without the help of nurses.
On being asked what she thought of her services, Kagia said, “We could have lost lives and the medical practitioners were just there. Let us prioritise lives over money. Utu wa mtu ni watu.”
Ironically, Kagia lives in abject poverty despite her expertise in midwifery. She told the journalists who interviewed her that she has been practicing since 1987 but has remained poor because people do not pay her.
She lives in a poorly-conditioned house with no electricity. The good thing is that she will finally get rid of the house.
The good Samaritans who witnessed how she helped the two women were touched by her kindness, realizing the important role she plays in saving lives. They came together and built her a good modern house with electricity.
Previously, I used a lamp but have said goodbye to my lamp,” gushed Kagia over her new house.
Here, at Mkenya Leo, thank the well-wishers for celebrating the midwife. Our society truly needs kind-hearted people like Kagia.
