Facebook saved Margaret's family

Tabitha Njoroge, 28, Director of Wildaf Kenya, tells her story of self-discovery and philanthropy to ALLAN OLINGO

Tabitha was a successful human rights trainer and advocate for women’s rights, as director of Women in Law and Development in Africa (Wildaf), Kenya. Then she took up a charity: Fundraising for Margaret Nguvi, a poor cancer patient who sadly passed on in December last year.

How did you get involved in Margaret’s Nguvi’s cause?

My friend Pollyne Owoko sent me a text about Margaret, who had cervical cancer, and I was troubled after watching the clip on KTN.

I knew I had to do something about her.

How did you manage to raise support through online appeals?

We uploaded videos and photos of Margaret on Facebook and made a passionate appeal to everyone on the site.

So many people contributed. It was through this that a well-wisher, Mr Hemal Shah learnt of Margaret’s story and upon further consultation, took the step to move her from Kenyatta National Hospital and get her admitted at the Nairobi West Hospital. By the time she was getting to the hospital, she was very weak.

What was her situation at Kenyatta National Hospital?

Margaret’s situation was desperate. She had given birth prematurely through caesarian section. The doctors had established that besides cervical cancer and malnutrion, she was suffering from Vesicovaginal Fistula (a condition arising from prolonged labour that results in leakage of urine). However, she could not be placed on treatment, as she had no money.

Apart from being detained over accumulated hospital bills, Margaret’s newborn could not be placed in an incubator because she could not afford it, and this made little Mwanzia develop meningitis, bone marrow infections and pneumonia.

What were the main challenges you faced?

First, there was the pending medical bill at Kenyatta National Hospital. Then we had to ensure her child was placed under immediate medical attention to save both their lives.

This was not easy, especially with the attitude we encountered from the staff at Kenyatta who were slow in helping.

When you visited Margaret’s home in Makuyu, what was the situation like?

At Margaret’s home in Makuyu, we found a family that had given up hope and was resigned to fate. They lacked all the basic necessities — food, clothing, bedding and shelter. They were just hanging on.

Talking to Kamando Karuma, her husband, you could feel the desperation and pain and we had to change his perception. He was a poor and jobless squatter who could not afford to feed his seven children, let alone foot for his wife’s medical bill. He could not afford even to come to Nairobi to visit his wife in hospital.

When word of our presence in the poverty-stricken village went round, villagers trooped in to have a share of the little food donations we had brought this family. We could not turn them away!

How did you take the news of Margaret demise?

We were very devastated but we knew she had left us with a greater responsibility to champion the cause of those who are in need.

It was a very sad moment as we lost someone whose life we really wanted to save, but I am glad to have been very helpful through her transition.

I know she passed on knowing that people cared, as over a thousand people touched her life in a very warm way.

Do you have any plans to help this family?

Margaret’s husband is currently unable to take care of the children, and we have a responsibility to ensure he finds some work to do so he can support his seven children.

People volunteered to help him rent out a two acre farm to cultivate in order to help him feed his family.

As a woman, you cannot turn a blind eye to such a situation and we ensured that Margaret’s sister-in-law took little Mwanzia in her custody and that all the family members had clothes and food and all the kids were back in school. We have made it our responsibility to have a weekly update on the conditions in order to help them out of this problem.

What’s the way forward?

At age 32, Margaret’s demise was a painful reminder of the need for more reproductive health education amongst women, especially in the rural areas. We have planned to launch a vigorous reproductive health campaign with the late Margaret as the face of it to coincide with the International Women’s day on March 8.

We must all join hands and educate our women about cervical cancer — tell them to go for pap smear screening — and to lobby for affordable health care.