Crawling family of 5 in Machakos receives unusual gift

The crawling family of 5 hit the headlines in November when their untold story stirred up conversations across the country.

The Matheka family lives in a seemingly secluded area of Mitaboni with three of them disabled; one partially blind and another completely blind.

One of them, 40-year-old Mutunga Matheka narrated how his life changed almost ten years ago.

“Nilikuwa nafanya kazi kwa bakery alafu watu wakaanza kuuliza kwani huyu ni pombe gani anakunywa na mimi sikuwa nakunywa,” he told KTN in an earlier interview.

Matheka revealed that his speech suddenly became slurred, followed by constant pain on his back and legs. Eventually, he was no longer able to walk.

And now he is slowly losing his eyesight, a condition that remains a mystery to his family but they are convinced it is genetic.

Their deceased father had married two wives and both families have the same symptoms.

When the children are born, they are ok; however, as they reach the age of 35 and above, the disease rears its ugly head.

Michael, another family member, intimates that they are also unable to get outside when they need to relieve themselves.

“Kufika kwa choo ni ngumu. Kujisaidia najisaidia kwa nyumba tu,” he said.

On Monday, the family was presented with an unexpected gift. What most take for granted, the Mutuas are elated to finally have: a toilet.

Jemima Muthama and her friends presented the gift as well as foodstuffs.

Mrs. Muthama said she learnt about their story after it was aired and Kenyans started talking about it on social media which prompted her to help them.

She also assured the family that they would find a way to take one of them to the Kenya School for the Blind so that they are able to use the skills to improve their lives.