A woman from Makonjeni village, Bamba, in Kilifi made a vow in 2005.
It was after a painful experience. Lilian Kali's mother died after trekking 41km to hospital in Mariakani.
Kali resolved to gift whoever would tarmac the 41km Mariakani-Bamba road in the county.
The road was badly damaged during the 1997-1998 El Niño rains. It was repaired during Kenya's Roads 2000 Road Maintenance Strategy for improving rural access roads but it quickly deteriorated due to heavy rains.
The road was in such a sorry state that vehicles avoided it and residents were forced to trek or use bicycles to Mariakani to buy food items or for other errands.
People would spend days walking to Mariakani and return with sore feet. Some lost their toenails from stumbling on stones on the road.
The poor state of the road left a scar in Kali's her heart after she lost her mother, who could not get to the doctor in time to save her life.
“My mother gave birth to our last born in 1998. She suffered a post-partum haemorrhage that stopped after a few weeks. After a few months, she started bleeding again but we dismissed it as the normal monthly period. This however did not stop,” she narrates.
In 2005, Kali's mother Nyevu Kirimo, 52, visited Bamba Health Centre (now Bamba Subcounty Hospital) and she was referred to Mariakani Health Centre (now Mariakani Subcounty Hospital).
The only means of transport on that road were bicycles as the road was in a sorry state, Kali recalls.
“We had none so we decided to walk to Mariakani hospital. It was a gruesome three-day walk to the hospital and my mother was bleeding," she says.
"Upon reaching the hospital, my mother breathed her last before seeing the doctor. It was as if she wanted to see the hospital then die. That was one of the lowest moments in my life."
She says she was devastated. Her mother had walked more than 40 kilometres only for her to die upon reaching the hospital.
Her pain did not end with the death of her mother.
At the time, Mariakani hospital did not have a mortuary and Kali and other family members had no option but to carry their mother's corpse on their shoulders. It was another long trek from Mariakani to Bamba. This time topped with tears.
After wrapping the body in a mat, they bought a traditional mwakishu bed and turned it upside down.
“We placed the body on the bed which was supported by two poles and carried it on our shoulders. It took us four days to reach home. On the way, we would get people to help us carry the body but that did not reduce the distance nor the pain we were in,” she says.
The body had not been embalmed and by the time they reached home it had decomposed.
“The body was in bad shape. No one wanted to bury my mother because she was just pieces. The body was badly decomposed. Only one man volunteered to bury my mother. It was a horrific experience,” she recalls amid sobs.
Kali says the pain made her vow to gift anyone who would make that road accessible.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the tarmacking of the Mariakani-Bamba road in April 2016, Kali knew the time to fulfil her promise had come.
“My mother is gone but I will honour my vow. I know it is not only my mother who died due to the poor state of the road. I never cared who would repair the road, but I promised to give that person or organisation a gift,” she says.
She says she had to think of an appropriate and befitting gift Uhuru upon completion of the project. The project was completed in 2017.
With the little savings she had, Kali bought three turkey hens and a gobbler.
Her aim was to raise the turkeys and gift them to the President.
“I had saved a little money from my tailoring business and bought the turkeys. I started with four, but eventually, they multiplied,” she says.
After the completion of the road, Kali had a rafter of turkeys but she had no way of reaching the President to take them.
She sold some and made Sh200,000 which she used to enrol for a plant operator course. She graduated in March this year.
She also bought a donkey which she uses to fetch water for the birds. She sells one turkey at Sh10,000
“I bred another flock which I now want to gift to President Uhuru Kenyatta. I want to give him 10 turkeys. I want him to pick them before he leaves office,” she says.
One of the turkeys is named after Uhuru.
Kali says over the last three years she has unsuccessfully knocked on several government offices trying to find a way to reach the President and give him the gift.
She says some told her it was hard for the President to collect the gift while others said they would take the turkeys and deliver them to the President.
Kali is now hoping the President will go and pick the turkeys himself.
“I call on all Kenyans to appreciate people while they are still alive and not to wait for them until they are dead. The road was built using our tax, yes, but how many leaders have we had who never saw the importance of building this road?” she asks.
Kali says the birds display a lot of pride, which resembles how proud she is for the road project.
Her father Kali Ziro supports his daughter's move.
“I have no objection. The President can come for them anytime. I sometimes help her take care of them when she is not around. This is a vow she made and she feels her mother will rest in peace when the vow is fulfilled,” he says.
The government has also started a project to tarmac the Bamba-Ganze-Kakanjuni-Kilifi road which is the major road in Ganze subcounty.
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