A man from West Pokot County is left bewildered, unsure of what to do after his wife died just three weeks after giving birth to triplets, leaving behind orphaned infants.
Julius Teletum, aged 44, in a sympathetic interview with Nation, expressed that he wasn’t prepared for the life of raising his newborns without their mother, and her death has left him in a state of confusion.
The father, now left with a total of 9 children without their mother, sits beside the fresh grave of his wife, expressing that his wife, Mercy Chepkorir, aged 39, gave birth on February 2 and passed away three weeks later, on February 21.
“On February 15, she started feeling unwell, we took her to the hospital and she came back home but her condition didn’t improve. We took her back to the hospital but we lost her,” Teletum told Nation.
Without their mother, Mr. Teletum finds himself feeding his children store-bought milk, which he says is expensive and not something he ever thought he would have to deal with.
“The milk for the babies from the store is expensive, it’s not a life I was prepared to face. But my thoughts changed when Mercy bid farewell,” he said.
The unemployed man has sought help, and his neighbors, assisting him in raising the children, have helped him set up a paybill number for contributions.
“This is the biggest blow I have ever experienced. This pain is of another level, especially when I remember that my three triplets are without their mother. It has forced me to seek neighbors and kind-hearted people to protect these children. It’s a very difficult task, especially during the nights. Sometimes I struggle to find someone to help me calm them down,” he said.
