Over £7800 raised online for 37-year old Ugandan woman with 38 children

What you need to know:

  • Former BBC journalist, Kassim Kayira, who has taken part in raising the profile of this woman’s story to the global media has appealed to well-wishers to support Ms Nabatanzi, whom at 39, has 38 children whom she has delivered from home except the last born who is four months old. She was delivered by caesarean section.
  • The funds are meant to raise money to take care of the children, ensure their access to better healthcare and enable her to start a business to improve her family’s life.

Dar es Salaam. In just one month, more than £7,800 (equivalent to about Sh22 million) has been raised online to support a Ugandan woman aged 39, who is struggling to raise her own 38 biological children. 

The woman, Mariam Nabatanzi, came to the limelight in East Africa, April this year after a journalist of The Citizen’s sister newspaper in Kampala, Daily Monitor Mr Godfrey Lugaaju broke her story.

The funding process, set up by a Ugandan, Karo Omu is meant to raise money to take care of the children, ensure their access to better healthcare and enable her to start a business to improve her family’s life.

“I started this page after seeing an article about her by Godfrey Lugaaju,’’ said Omu. The target is to raise up to £10,000, equivalent to about Sh28.8million.

Information obtained from the GoFundme portal, shows that journalists-- Godfrey Lugaaju and Jewel Nabukeera are expected to deliver the funds to Mariam and her kids as soon as the campaign ends.

Former BBC journalist, Kassim Kayira, who has taken part in raising the profile of this woman’s story to the global media has appealed to well-wishers to support Ms Nabatanzi.

“Many of you have been asking me about the woman with 38 children aged only 39. And how you could help. Here is a gofund set up to help,’’ wrote Mr Kayira on his official Facebook Page  

At 39, Nabatanzi has 38 children whom she has delivered from home except the last born who is four months old. She was delivered by caesarean section.

Among her children are six sets of twins, four sets of triplets, three sets of quadruples and single births. Ten of these are girls and the rest are boys. The oldest is 23 years old while the youngest is four months.

Nabatanzi was married off at 12 years of age after surviving death; allegedly at her stepmother’s hands who apparently pounded glass and mixed it in the food she gave Nabatanzi and her four siblings.

Her husband is an absentee father same is for her husband, thus leaving her to support her children by doing odd jobs.