Volunteer heroes of Mai Mahiu: When Kenyans step up to be their brother's keeper

In the wake of the devastating floods that hit the villages of Kamuchiri and Jerusalem in Mai Mahiu, a remarkable spirit of unity and compassion has emerged among residents.

Despite the heartbreaking loss of 52 people and dozens still missing, the community has shown extraordinary resilience and solidarity in the face of adversity. 

Volunteer efforts have been instrumental in supporting those affected by the disaster, providing assistance to grieving families, the injured and those facing lifelong trauma.

From volunteer programmes to mental health support, the community has come together to help with the recovery and search efforts downstream.

At Ngeya Girls Secondary School, which has been transformed into a disaster centre and temporary home for affected families, acts of kindness and generosity abound. 

Nation has seen well-wishers flock to the centre with donations of food, clothing and bedding, offering comfort to those left homeless by the tragedy.

Amid the chaos, a group of dedicated volunteers have taken on the crucial task of providing play therapy for traumatised children. Yesterday, Nation found them busy playing piano, games, scrabble and bricks. 

Read: Maai Mahiu tragedy: Six things we know so far

Led by Joseph Mwaura, the volunteers engage the children in games and activities to help them cope with the trauma they've experienced. For Mr Mwaura and his team, play is not just a pastime, but an essential tool for healing and recovery.

The centre has 52 children between the ages of 5 and 14.

"As a team, we thought about how we could help, especially the children who, along with their parents, were affected by the tragedy. We thought of sports and games after a tragedy and that is why we are here today, this is our first day, we hope to be here until Saturday, we have four days to be with the children," he said.

Community counsellor Irine Njeri and other volunteers have been providing psychological support to affected families since the early hours of the tragedy.

"We are trained by the GBV cluster from Naivasha, this is what we do, community work, wherever there is a disaster, an accident or anything, we help. We are the people on the ground. We have never seen anything so tragic before. It was big for us, we are visiting families who have lost their loved ones, others are missing. But we are doing our best," she said.

Despite the enormity of the situation, they remain steadfast in their commitment to provide comfort and assistance to those in need.

According to her, she was woken up at 3am by her group leader, who told her to join her other colleagues in responding to the incident.

She said they started receiving survivors as early as 6am who were traumatised and needed words of comfort.

"You can tell them if they need medical services and other things, yesterday was hard, people had confirmed that they had lost their loved ones. I was dealing with a case of a mother whose children were missing. It was later confirmed that one of them had died and the rest were rescued, and I tried my best to comfort her," she said Naomi Njeri Karanja left her own family to help prepare meals for the affected families at the centre.

She arrives at the centre as early as 7am and, with the help of other volunteers, prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Since Monday, she has been leaving the centre at 8pm.

"I left my family to come and help here, they are our neighbours, we have to come through for them as they need us at this difficult time," she said.

Following the President's directive on Tuesday, the Kenya Defence Forces went into action yesterday to assist in the search and recovery of bodies still trapped in the rubble.

They also set up a medical camp to provide medical services to affected families.