In the spirit of the festive season, hope shone brightly for a family struggling to save their six-month-old baby, Kimberly Simiyu. Her young heart, weakened by a critical condition, desperately needed surgery—a procedure estimated to cost over 2 million Kenyan shillings. Unable to raise such a staggering amount, Kimberly’s father reached out for help, pouring his heart out in a message that resonated with sheer desperation and love:
“Kindly come through for her Aki. As a father, I feel I have failed because I am unable to raise over 2M to facilitate her surgery. She is really in bad shape please, please.”
Touched by his plea, efforts were initiated to have Baby Kimberly sponsored by Save a Child’s Heart, an organization known for funding critical heart surgeries for children. Miraculously, she was approved for a fully sponsored surgery in Israel. The family began the process of securing necessary travel documents, clinging to the hope that their little girl would soon be on her way to a life-saving procedure.
However, as the days passed, Baby Kimberly’s condition took a turn for the worse. On December 31st, she was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital and admitted in critical condition. Despite being placed on oxygen, her tiny body struggled to hold on.
On the night of January 1st, a restless spirit led me to check on her family. I sent a message to her father, expecting him to read it in the morning. To my utter shock and heartbreak, he replied immediately, saying, “My baby has just rested a few minutes ago.”
At that moment, time stood still. The weight of those words sank in as I realized that Baby Kimberly’s heart had stopped beating. Her courageous fight had come to an end.
This morning, her parents, Emmanuel Simiyu and his wife, found themselves not only grieving but burdened by the financial strain of transferring their beloved daughter’s body to the mortuary. They are now in desperate need of 50,000 Kenyan shillings to settle hospital bills and funeral arrangements.
As a community, we may not have saved Kimberly’s life, but we can come together to ease her parents’ pain during this trying time. Let us rally around this heartbroken family, lightening their load as they lay their precious angel to rest.
By Nairobi