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Father of baby girl pulled from Huruma rubble gets a surprise gift


Nearly two months after his child was miraculously rescued from a collapsed building in Nairobi after four days under the rubble, Mr Ralson Wasike is yet to fully adjust to normal life.

Though happy that his eight-month-old daughter Dealeryn Saisi was found alive and is healthy, his wife died when the six-storey flat in Huruma, where they lived, collapsed.

The rescue of the “miracle baby” captured the imagination of the nation and gave hope to the rescuers. Two days later, three other people were found alive.

The building collapsed at 9pm on April 29 after a week of heavy rains, leaving 49 people dead. Another 140 were rescued.

SHUFFLES

Mr Wasike, 27, shuffles between his mother’s two-roomed house in Huruma, where the baby lives, and his brother’s house nearby, where he stays.

“I have been working on settling emotionally following what happened before I make the next step in life and going back to normalcy,” he said on Sunday.

Mr Ralson Wasike and daughter Dealeryn . PHOTO | EVANS HABIL
Mr Ralson Wasike and daughter Dealeryn . PHOTO | EVANS HABIL

Mr Wasike said he has resumed his job as a tailor at a cloth manufacturing company.

Although it has been tough being a single father with an infant, he has found a soft landing in his mother and relatives, who have agreed to support him as he regains his balance in life.

“The child is doing very well and, together with my mother and other family members, we are doing our best to see to it that she is happy and comfortable,” said Mr Wasike.

The baby girl bubbles excitedly as her grandmother, Ms Gladys Mulongo, tickles her during the interview, oblivious of her miraculous rescue and the life ahead without her mother.

FADING SCAR

A small scar on her head, from slight injuries she sustained during the tragedy, is fading.

Mr Wasike said he wants to give his daughter the best in life and get a job that will enable him to spend more time with her.

After losing his wife Eunice Bosibori, the soft-spoken father of one has had to make several adjustments, including accepting the fact that his wife died.

But Fathers Day came with a blessing for Mr Wasike: A brand new motorcycle from Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru, who promised to help him to find a better job.