Story of man who has spent over 30 years cooking, cleaning and caring for his sick wife

TUKO.co has reported the story a couple who have demonstrated uncommon love that has taken them through thick and thin for close to 50 years now.

According to the amazing story, Saleh Kalabarter and his wife Anna Ekali first met when Kalabarter was 17 while Ekali was 20, both leaving off the streets of Kakamega Town.

Now 65, Kalabarter describes their close to 50 years of being together as husband and wife as a journey of mercies. It all relates to his wife’s illness.

“It is God. It has never been easy in my life since the love of my heart was confirmed to have cancer, but I still believe it will come to an end,” he said during an interview at his temporary home in a government-owned land in Majengo area, Kakamega county.

Kalabarter noted that his wife’s sickness had weakened her, and he had no option but to be the one taking care of her.

For over 30 years now, he has defied African norms, taking over roles that traditionally his wife was to do. He cooks, washes clothes and dishes, as well as do other general home duties for his wife, and it is all out of love.

The 65-year-old said they both grew up in Turkana County. Their early life was equally full of struggles and challenges.

“My mother deserted my father when I was seven months old, and she got married to another one here in Kakamega. She left us in the care of our grandmother, and up to date I don’t know my father,” Ekali narrated.

For Kalabarter, he grew up on the streets of Lodwar Town, a lifestyle that seemed to be preparing him for what was to come.

“One day, my friends and I decided to board a lorry carrying stones from Lodwar. We didn’t know where we were going, and that’s how we found ourselves in Kakamega,” he recalled.

As fate would have it, Kalabarter later met Ekali in Kakamega Town in late 1960s, and they later became husband and wife.

Initially, the man secured a job at a local butchery and earnings from the employment helped him invest in his own business.

But as time went on, Kalabarter had to leave his business and focus on taking care of his wife whose health was deteriorating due to the sickness.

Health challenges were not the only issue that the two faced. They were also struggling to get a child despite having been together for nearly 20 years.

“I decided to go for a medical checkup in a nearby clinic, where they told me I cannot carry a pregnancy completely. I doubted them and went to another clinic but results from the second local clinic were even worse; they confirmed that I have breast cancer,” Ekali recalled.

She noted that the medical report came as a shocker to them and the situation kept worsening by day.

“Her situation was bad; I had to leave my job so that I could care for her. She couldn’t bend or do anything,” Kalabarter told TUKO.co.ke.

To date, Ekali is too weak to work forcing the man of the house to do everything.

The family has been relying on help from well-wishers to buy drugs and other basic needs while they remain optimistic that one day, things will be better.