Kenyans Raise Over KSh10 Million for Bryson's Skin Treatment, His Mother's Surgery

Eric Omondi's Sisi Kwa Sisi initiative has hit KES 10.2 million, enough to cover Bryson Makokha's care and an operation for his mother.

Kenyans and well-wishers across the globe came together and crowdfunded tens of millions for the 17-year-old Bryson from Lukhuna village in Chwele, Bungoma County.

The money will pay for his treatment for a rare, painful skin condition he has lived with for about eight years.

Bryson's story spread after a video showed him crying by the roadside while selling bananas. He explained that some customers avoided him because of his skin, and that he was using part of his earnings to buy painkillers.

His father had already sold a cow and leased out part of the family's land to pay for care, but it was not enough.

Comedian Eric Omondi took up his cause through Sisi Kwa Sisi, and contributions poured in.

Donations flooded his father's mobile money account so quickly that a paybill had to be opened.

Bryson has since been admitted to The Luton Hospital on Ngong Road, Nairobi, where doctors have begun tests and corrective procedures.

The latest update brings good news for his mother as well. She had been battling abdominal pain, and examination revealed a swelling of about five centimetres that the doctor noted needed urgent attention.

"I opted to do an ultrasound, and it was found to have a small defect," the doctor said. The diagnosis was an epigastric hernia.

The condition is treatable. Surgeons will close the defect with a mesh, a common repair that reinforces the weak spot in the abdominal wall. With the funds now raised, she can undergo the operation.

Beyond medical bills, organisers have said part of the money will go toward a permanent home for the family, an education fund so Bryson can return to school, and a retail shop to give them a steady income.