Help me support 4 families in Kenya through hardship

Hello. My name is Kim. I'm an Australian living in Kenya.

This is my first foray into the GoFundMe initiative. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I’m raising funds to support four families in Kenya. Over the past three years, I’ve come to know the heads of these households through regular interactions, some daily, others several times a week. Two are security guards employed by a local company to guard the entry to our residential compound. The other two work a few days a week in my home, one as a housekeeper and one as a gardener. They are all kind and dedicated workers, and I’ve come to understand the challenges they face trying to support their families on modest incomes.

The immediate reason for starting this campaign is a serious health crisis. One of the guards, Alfayo, has become critically ill. He is currently too sick to work and, unfortunately, is not receiving any income on his long road to recovery. I’ve been helping to cover his medical expenses to date, but the costs continue to rise and his family is now struggling without his income.

To give some context, the minimum monthly wage in Kenya for workers such as guards, housekeepers, and gardeners is around AUD $210 per month. Very few are set up with social security or national health.

We pay our housekeeper and gardener double the minimum wage (prorated). But even this is not enough to comfortably support a family in Kenya, particularly if they do not have work on the other days.

For example:

My housekeeper supports four children. Her rent alone is around AUD $130 a month. Her husband is a street vendor and has intermittent work. The education costs for her children per semester are more than AUD $500.

My gardener’s wife is unemployed, and they too have four children to support, one of whom has a disability. He is also trying to provide a good education for his children.

Alfayo and the other compound guard work 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week. Alfayo’s wife is unemployed. They are raising four children, one of whom has a chronic health issue.

I assist these families where I can, whether it’s small monthly cash top-ups for the guards, or contributions to education costs for the children of our part-time staff. But at the moment, that’s simply not enough.

My goal is to raise AUD $2,500, distributed as follows:

$1,000 to support Alfayo’s family while he recovers and is unable to work.

$500 each for the families of the other guard, my housekeeper, and my gardener.

Funds will be prioritised to Alfayo first, given the urgency of his medical situation. Once his needs are met, the remaining funds will be shared equally among the other three families.

Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a meaningful difference. $5 means a lot to the average person here in Kenya. If you’re in a position to help, I would be deeply grateful.

Thank you again for reading and for considering a donation to support these four families.

Photos: Alfayo currently in hospital and me and my gardener.