📷Above| Restoring eyesight through the Garba Tulla medical camp as successful cataract surgeries were conducted
In the vast, sun-scorched plains of northern Kenya, where hope sometimes feels as distant as the horizon, one woman has emerged as a towering beacon of compassion, resilience, and transformative leadership.
Her Excellency Mrs. Habiba Guyo — affectionately and reverently known across Isiolo County as Mama Hassan — has once again proven why she is not just the First Lady, but the true Mother of a rejuvenated Isiolo.
From the moment her husband, Governor Abdi Ibrahim Hassan Guyo, took office in 2022, Mama Hassan has been proactive in promoting health causes among the local underserved communities.
Instead of just basking in the glory of the First Ladyship, she has thrown herself into the people’s struggles with the fierce love only a mother can muster — especially for Hassan, her eldest son, after whom her endearing title is derived.
In every ward, in every remote village, her voice has risen above the dust and drought: a clarion call for a healthier, more dignified, and prosperous Isiolo where no child, woman, youth, or vulnerable soul is left behind.
Habiba: The Mother Who Restored Sight, Smiles, and Hope to Garbatulla
Running from 19 to 23 December 2025, the ongoing Free Medical and Surgical Camp in Garbatulla Ward is doing far more than treating patients.
It is healing wounds that medicine alone cannot reach. It is restoring dignity. It is reminding an entire community that a mother’s love, when channeled into action, can move mountains.
Miracles Measured in Lives, Not Just Numbers (Results as of the second day – 20 December)
By the end of the second day, 665 patients had already received completely free, high-quality care, with many more still streaming in.
Specialist doctors had conducted 323 consultations, performed 52 major and minor surgeries, and carried out 207 medical and surgical procedures right there on site.
The paediatric tent alone treated 200 children—the largest group of all—while seven people who had lived in darkness for years regained their sight through cataract surgery.
Every consultation, every operation, every tablet and stitch was provided absolutely free of charge.
More patients are being seen daily, and the final figures will only be known when the camp closes on 23 December.
But numbers can never tell the full story. The real story lives in the voices of Garbatulla.
The Voices That Will Echo Forever
Fatuma Abdullahi, 62, from Modogashe, wept uncontrollably after her cataract surgery:
“For seven years I lived in total darkness. My grandchildren had to lead me everywhere like a burden. Today, for the first time, I can see again. They told me Mama Hassan made this camp possible even though she has not yet arrived. May God grant her long life and bring her safely to us before the camp ends—she has given life back to us.”
Halima Guyo, 28, mother of five from Kinna, still emotional days after her emergency surgery:
“I was in constant pain. I wish Mama Hassan were here to thank in person, but everyone says this is her camp, her gift to us. When they told me it was because of her that I could be operated on for free, I cried. She truly is the mother of us all—may Allah bring her here soon so I can kiss her hand.”
Six-year-old Abdi Boru, flashing a proud, pain-free smile after four infected teeth were removed:
“Am told Mama Hassan organized everything and even sent sweets for children like me. When she comes, I will tell her thank you myself! Now I can eat without crying!”
Mohamed Golicha, 74, a lifelong herder who had accepted blindness as his fate:
“I thought I would never see my goats again. After the surgery, I looked up and saw the Kenyan flag flying above the health centre… and I cried like a child. I would like to express my gratitude to Mama Hassan for bringing this miracle to Garbatulla. I am waiting for the day she arrives so I can fall at her feet and thank her properly.”
Amina Ibrahim, eight months pregnant, travelling from distant Sericho:
“They did a full scan, gave me all the medicine and vitamins I needed—everything free because of Mama Hassan. The nurses said she is expected any day now and that she always checks on pregnant mothers. I have already chosen the name: Habiba.”
A First Lady Who Chooses People Over Protocol
Though Mama Hassan has not yet physically arrived at the Garbatulla camp (she is expected before it concludes, possibly as early as 22 December), her presence is felt in every tent, every smile, every healed eye.
Doctors, nurses, and volunteers speak of her constant phone calls checking on progress, her personal instructions to leave no patient untreated, and the way she has mobilized resources so no one pays even a single shilling. She has made it clear: the camp must not end until every last person in need has been seen.
A Legacy Already Larger Than Isiolo
Since 2022, the Mama Hassan Foundation has brought similar life-changing medical camps to nearly every ward in the county—Oldonyiro, Ngare Mara, Burat, Wabera, and beyond. Everywhere the story repeats: tears of joy, restored health, and the same heartfelt refrain on every lip: “Mama Hassan has given us back our lives.”
In less than three years, Kenya’s first indigenous First Lady of Isiolo has become the most beloved and respected female figure across northern Kenya.
She has shattered stereotypes, erased old fears, and proven that a daughter of the soil, armed only with love and determination, can rewrite the destiny of an entire county.
In Garbatulla today, people no longer just say “thank you.” They whisper prayers while looking toward the road, waiting for the day her vehicle appears on the horizon: “May God bless Mama Hassan forever and bring her safely to us.”
And in the heart of every patient who walked away healed, every child who smiled without pain, every elder who saw the sunrise again, one truth now shines brighter than the harsh northern sun:
As long as Mama Hassan walks these red-earth paths—even from afar—no one, no one, will ever be left behind.
Healthcare delivered. Dignity restored. An entire county reborn, one mother’s embrace at a time—whether she is beside us or watching over us. Asante sana, Mama Hassan. Your legend is only beginning.
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