This is my friend Margaret Wanjiku, or as she is known by everyone in Eburru, Mama Kamau. She is one of the first people I met when I moved to Eburru, and she has been one of my favorite people ever since. I have been helping her get her kids into school, and for a while was helping her with her son who had special needs.

She has had an incredibly difficult life, and has struggled with alcoholism for decades. She was raised by her grandmother; her mother died when she was six, and her grandmother died when she was ten. Without anyone to watch out for her or care for her, she found herself following her mother's footsteps into alcoholism.

When she was 16 she had her first son, Kamau, who was born with Spina Bifida. She was a single teenage mom alone with a special needs child. She really didn't know how to manage life and fell into a pattern of moving around aimlessly and has had three more children, ranging in ages from 16 to 6.

When I met Mama Kamau my goal was to get her stabilized a little bit so the kids could stay in one place and go to school. This has been working well for the last 10 years.

Sadly, and unexpectedly, this spring her first born son Kamau passed away due to complications from a brain aneurysm. This, naturally, has caused Mama Kamau to fall into depression.

But, one good thing from the pain of losing Kamau is Mama Kamau has finally decided she wants to stop drinking and change her life for the better.

Ever since I met Mama Kamau I have told her if she ever wanted to stop drinking I would get her the help she needs to do that. And so now that she has decided to go to rehab it is up to me to raise the funds for her to get the help and healing she needs.

I have found a great rehab here in Naivasha. She will be in in-patient treatment for three months and then do weekly check-ins for several months following. The rehab offers both individual and group therapy, and for Mama Kamau's case will offer family therapy as well so she and her kids can learn how to relate to one another as she is working to change her life and become free from alcoholism.

The rehab is costly, but Mama Kamau is worth it. The $5,000 will cover her in-patient treatment, her weekly check-ins, and will pay for someone to stay with her kids while she's in rehab and also cater for their basic needs while she is in rehab.

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.