From Despair to Dignity: A Father’s Story

In a small corner of the Elangata Enterit community, a Maasai father once had nothing except love for his children. 

Legayangai was not always poor. Years ago, he and his wife worked their land together, raised their five children, and dreamed of a brighter future. However, when illness took his wife and drought devastated their land, everything fell apart.

Left alone with five children, Legayangai struggled to find a stable income. He scavenged for casual labor—digging, herding, and carrying firewood—anything to earn a few shillings. Some nights, his children went to bed with only boiled water in their stomachs. He would pretend he had eaten so they wouldn’t feel guilty.

His home was falling apart—cracks in the mud walls, a leaking roof, and no mattress. He and the youngest slept on old sacks. His two sons dropped out of school to help him search for food. This humbled father began to feel his dignity slipping away.

Because of a donor's generosity through Family Partners’ direct give program, Legayangai began receiving financial support with no strings attached—just trust, dignity, and encouragement. He wept the day he received his first support. "I had never seen that much money come into my hands at once," he said. “I sat down and cried. I felt seen."

He used part of the funds to buy food, pay school fees, and restore the roof over his children’s heads. With guidance from the on-field staff, he invested in two goats and started a small vegetable garden.  Slowly, life began to change.

His children returned to school, laughter returned to his home, and for the first time in a long time, he could say “yes” when his daughter asked for a pencil.

“I am still a poor man,” Legayangai says, “but now, I am a man with dignity. I can look my children in the eye without shame.”

To every father like Legayangai—we see you. And to every Family Partner, thank you for restoring the dignity of fathers who never gave up—even when it seemed the world had forgotten them.