Jane Naliaka, commonly known as “Mama Dorica,” finds herself in a distressing situation at the Lutheran area in Makutano town. With a saddened and disheartened expression, she sits on the veranda alongside her children, contemplating the next course of action for the day. The children, visibly exhausted and in tears, add to her anguish, as they wake up hungry with nothing to eat.
Jane Naliaka, a 62-year-old mother of six from Kapenguria in West Pokot County, has captured the attention of many due to her distressing decision to administer Piriton drugs to her children and grandchildren to alleviate their hunger pangs. Piriton, also known as Chlorphenamine, is classified as a sedating antihistamine.
Recently, Jane Naliaka, a vegetable vendor commonly referred to as Mama Mboga, narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation along with her siblings. They had resorted to taking Piriton drugs for two consecutive days without consuming any food, which had a detrimental effect on their well-being until their neighbors came to their rescue.
“I normally give them Piriton for them to sleep so that they don’t cry the whole night when there is no supper. One grandchild whose mother died has been disturbing me to take him to her mother, yet we had told him that she went on a long journey,” narrated Naliaka.
Naliaka’s debt of KES 480, which she borrowed from a friend to seek medical assistance for one of her grandchildren, has exacerbated her predicament. The debt has been accumulating as she struggled to make timely payments.
Witnessing Naliaka’s siblings sleeping excessively for two days without waking up alarmed their neighbors. It was an evident consequence of the Piriton drugs they had consumed.
“I could not pay the debt for two months and my friend, with whom I had borrowed her cash, came and picked my tomatoes. She even took me to the police station and life became hard for me,” she said.
Mama Dorica, candidly expresses how unbearable life has become for her family due to the soaring cost of living. The lack of food has forced her to resort to administering drugs to her children and grandchildren to induce sleep and suppress their hunger pangs. The constant cries for food from her children only added to her distress.
As a vegetable vendor operating in Makutano Township, Naliaka’s financial burden became more severe when her stock worth KES 3000 was confiscated by her creditor due to her outstanding debt.
by: DrArogo