By Brian Okoth, Citizen Digital
When she begged for Government intervention after floods in Kano, Kisumu County destroyed her home in April 2012, Jane Anyango Adika did not know that she would become an instant celebrity.
Her long plea, which was delivered in unconventional Swahili, became the butt of many jokes.
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“Sirikali tafadhali! Niko zaidi mbaya kabisa! Kama unaweza kunisaidia unisaidie pahali pa kuenda leo!”
In a desperate call, she begged for help as her property had been destroyed and she could not trace her children or husband.
Amused by how she pleaded for help from the Government, Kenyans christened her “Mama Serikali”.
Her moment of desperation came as a hidden blessing as Adika has been appointed as the Flood Preparedness Ambassador under the department of Special Programmes by the Kisumu County Government.
Kisumu County Governor, Jack Ranguma, says the post befits Jane. He is convicted she will educate the masses on flood management considering she has been a victim of the same.
The 40-year-old will undergo a short training on disaster preparedness and mitigation to boost her delivery potential on radio, public barazas and other multimedia platforms.
Jane’s celebrity status made Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa to pay her a visit during an official tour of the area in September.
Kisumu County is said to have set aside Ksh 70 million for the project that will mostly focus on Muhoroni, Nyando, Lower Nyakach and Kisumu Central areas.
Safaricom advert
This is not the first good thing that has come out of Adika’s passionate plea.
Earlier in the year she landed a lucrative advertisement deal with the country’s leading telecommunications company, Safaricom.
The August, 2015 Storo Ibambe advert campaign featured ordinary Kenyans that gained popularity for their dramatic eyewitness accounts of robbery, floods, road accident and kidnapping respectively.
Ms Adika was among the four ‘funny’ witnesses who were included as acts in the campaign.
Other faces that featured in the ad are former street boy James Kang’ethe, better known as Bonoko, Joseph Mburu, also known as Jose the Witnesser and Alice Wambui – the kifi kifi woman who witnessed a kidnap attempt.
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