Boniface Mwangi Opens Up About Losing His Unborn Child

We know Boniface Mwangi as a spirited, passionate activist, but under the tough exterior, he has a soft spot.

He joins a large number of Kenyans tomorrow for the First Lady’s Marathon and he gives his reasons for participating in this worthy cause:

Why l Am Running for Beyond Zero.

March 8, 2015 is the First Lady’s Marathon to reduce maternal mortality. 8th March 2008 is the day l got married and this Sunday, my wife and I shall be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary by joining the First Lady at the ‪#‎BeyondZero‬ marathon.

Taking part in the First Lady’s marathon for me is personal;
On June 2, 2009 we lost our unborn baby and my wife almost died from complications that followed. If I can spare another family the kind of agony my family and I went through from this horrible ordeal by running in this marathon, then I am in no doubt that I must run this race. My wife and I shall also be donating Ksh 100,000 to the First Lady 2015 half marathon.

The second reason I will be running in the First Lady’s marathon is that we need to support Margaret Kenyatta who has chosen to take up maternal mortality and literally, run with it. The 8th March race targets to raise Ksh 600million for the ‘Beyond Zero’ campaign.
Kenya has a maternal mortality rate of 488 deaths per 100,000 live births. The country is off track in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Kenya had committed to reduce these deaths to 147 per 100,000 live births by this year.

The First Lady partners with the government of Kenya in her Beyond Zero Campaign. The country’s 2014-15-country budget is 1.8 trillion shillings. With a slight adjustment to priorities, it would not be difficult for the government to provide every single cent that she is running to raise. The government has found money to pay Anglo leasing ghosts amounts totaling Ksh1.4 billion; to increase members of parliament’s salaries; to start the construction of the standard gauge railway at a cost of Ksh327 billion.

It doesn’t end there: The government has found the money to give Members of County Assembly over Ksh3 billion for foreign travel. The 418 MPs and Senators have over Ksh9.1 billion at their disposal for travel. It only costs 10 million shilling to have a well-equipped mobile clinic that could save the lives of thousands. We spent 2.135 billion shillings to buy 359 Members of Parliament and 67 senators – who earn about a 1.2 million shillings each a month- a Ksh5 million car each. If we had let them buy their own cars like any other employee does, we would have bought 213 mobile clinics and saved hundreds of women and children’s lives.

Margaret spearheads her campaign as an active citizen. Active citizens aren’t those who complain and whine about a problem but those who take a firm stand. An active citizen (otherwise called an activist) is someone who sees a problem and takes a step to do something about it. I wish we could all follow her example and do more than just threaten or promise to take action.

On Sunday, my family shall join the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta in the marathon. We should all support Margaret to meet her target soon so that she can embark on other Kenya-changing campaigns. After all, she doesn’t just say she will run, she actually runs. While others threaten to take action and post ‪#‎hashtags‬ and selfies, she is busy doing her best to reduce maternal mortality.
I celebrate First Lady Margaret Kenyatta! Happy International Women’s Day.