Elderly Mathioya residents construct feeder road after years of suffering

An elderly woman rolls a stone while working on a feeder road in Gitugi, Mathioya, in Murang'a county

Residents of Thuitu Village in Gitugi ward, Mathioya constituency in Murang'a county have taken the initiative to construct a feeder road leading to their homes after suffering for decades.

The feeder road that connects the village to the Murang’a-Gitugi road has never been excavated, making transport activities difficult.

The largely elderly residents, however, said they have had enough and decided to take matters onto their own hands to improve the quality of their lives.

Martha Njeri said villagers depend on agriculture to support themselves, but that the poor state of the road makes it difficult for them to sell their agricultural produce.

“We have been missing out on many government services over the years. Even when they are doing mass vaccination of cattle, we have no way of taking ours because we have been using footpaths that go through our neighbors’ farms and the cows would destroy their food crops”.

Social activities in the village are almost non-existent due to lack of a clear passage while patients are carried on make-shift stretchers made of sacks or wheelbarrows to the main road where they can then access public transport.

Njeri said the village has been neglected by both county and national governments, hampering their bid to improve their lives.

Elderly men and women working on a feeder road leading to their homes in Gitugi, Murang'a

She pointed out that efforts to reach their MP Edwin Mugo and MCA for support have proven futile, leaving them to their own meager means.

“This is our main passage from the main road. The only other option is to go through other people’s farms so we decided to do something about it to put to an end our suffering”.

Njeri explained that they first engaged a surveyor to establish the boundaries of the feeder road in 2017 when the idea was first incubated.

They then started making contributions that enabled them to hire excavators to open the feeder road up before the project stalled.

She added that more contributions have enabled them to produce construction materials and that they have agreed to provide the labor themselves to save costs, saying that they are on their second week of constructing the road.

“Its not that we have the money. We’re doing this because we cannot continue living as we have been living,” she said.

John Mwai on his part said the village has been deprived of development and has no water or electricity despite promises by political leaders.

Teresiah Wanjiku with a kiondo that she uses to carry sand and hardcore while working in the feeder road

“This project has consumed a lot of our money and we have been unable to reach our leaders for help. It’s like we live in another world”.

“We know there are excavators and tractors offered by the government to open up feeder roads but we have been forced to do this ourselves,” he added.

Calling out local leaders over negligence, Mwai lamented that the road has been in a poor state for years since it was excavated.

He however pointed out that the villagers have wholeheartedly supported the project and are committed to see it through, appealing for help from well-wishers.

“Politicians only come to us during campaigns when they make empty promises so we can vote for them,” Mwai added.

Teresiah Wanjiku said they decided to offer the labor themselves after youths in the village asked to be paid to help in the project.

Elderly women rolling stones for laying along a feeder road in Gitugi, Mathioya.

Wanjiku who was carrying sand and stones using a kiondo said alcoholism has affected majority of the youths in the area, leaving the elderly to do the hard labor even in the farms.

Samuel Macharia remarked that the road has hampered development in the area over the years, expressing optimism that things will get better after it’s complete.

“We have struggled with this road since 2017, making small contributions until there was enough money to do one activity then we embark on another one”.

“Excavation cost us over Sh100,000 and another Sh100,000 on hardcore and a similar amount on stones. This is volunteer work. We work on the road once or twice a week. We sit down and agree on the days”.

With no strength to lift the stones, the elderly men and women roll them down to the spot where they are set to be laid.

Ends

Instant Analysis

The feeder road that connects the village to the Murang’a-Gitugi road has been in a poor state, making transport activities difficult.

The villagers first engaged a surveyor to establish the boundaries of the feeder road in 2017 when the idea was first incubated.

The villagers decided to provide the labor themselves after youths in the village asked to be paid to help in the project.