Slum Needs Basic Support

Matisi Nutrition and Medicine Matisi is a slum on the west side of Kitale, Kenya. Originally people would leave their villages thinking they’d find work in Kitale and settle in temporary makeshift housing on the outskirts of town. Now, after several generations in the slum, many people have lost their village roots and live without running water and with dispersed pit latrines.

We sponsor a weekly food basket program for over a hundred of these neediest families, often elderly grandmothers who care for their HIV-orphaned grandchildren. We feel that care for orphans is best done by extended families. To achieve that, we provide food supplementation of porridge, maize, and beans each week while monitoring weight gain/loss to assure that we’re doing well.

Our medical assistance program has provided transportation and medicine for thousands of people in Matisi. Most people walk wherever they go, but the new hospital is four miles away. We provide motorbike transport for patients when their condition requires a hospital visit rather than being seen at a local clinic.