The Spouse of the Deputy President Pastor Dorcas Rigathi could not control her tears while telling the story of widows in some parts of the country who have been forced to ‘sell’ their bodies in exchange for food for their children or families.
Speaking to religious leaders from Kilifi County, Pastor Dorcas said it is painful that some widows have been forced to exchange their bodies for sex to feed their children.
She recalled her recent tour of Migori County where some of the widows who she is now supporting narrated to her the ordeals they have to go through to feed their children.
“I went to Migori, a widow is ‘selling’ her body to feed her child. And we are still talking about religion. Just ask yourself if that was your mother doing that to feed you and get your school fees. We need to go beyond religion and get them out of this mess," she said.
"In the end, nobody will be asked which religion they belong to, God will judge us based on how we did to help His people. In the crisis we are in, if the religious leaders will not act, then we are not helping our people."
Pastor Dorcas noted the high number of widows in the county of Kilifi and other parts of the country arguing the numbers represent fallen husbands and fathers and leaving the widows to take care of their children.
In many of the meetings she has organized for the widows in various parts of the country, the numbers are always higher than anticipated, something Pastor Dorcas says is worrying.
In the Kehancha area of Migori, the office of the Spouse of the Deputy President had organized a meeting for 500 widows but ended up having 1,500 widows attending the meeting.
She further called on the religious leaders both from the Muslim and Christian communities to help in uplifting the lives of the widows among other vulnerable populations in their areas.
Pastor Dorcas urged the religious leaders to open up their places of worship for the boychild in the streets as a way.
She has been on a week-long working tour of Kilifi County in her programs targeting the boychild, widows, and PWDs among others.
She organized a two-day free medical camp targeting the community in the Mbudzi area and Jaribuni ward in the interior part of Kilifi County.
On Thursday morning, she met Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro who pledged to support her programs in the county.
The first lady of Kilifi Susan Mung’aro who has accompanied Pastor Dorcas in all her engagements in the county of Kilifi pledged her support in the county to dignify the lives of the vulnerable populations.
