NAIROBI, Kenya

Over 150 mothers in a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya's capital, received food and hygiene kits on Sunday from Turkey's state-run aid agency in celebration of Mother’s Day.

"Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus restrictions, I'm no longer be able to work. I really thank the Turkish government. They've remembered us in these hard times with these generous food parcels and hygiene products," said Aisha Mwangi, a 48-year-old single mother of four living in the Lower Kabete neighborhood.

Most people in Lower Kabete are either self-employed or wage workers in the informal sector, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many women, who are mostly traders, peddlers, artisans and tailors, can no longer support their families.

Emre Yuksek, the Kenya coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), who delivered the donation to the mothers, told Anadolu Agency: "We've reached out to 150 mothers. We thought it would be a nice present during these trying times to reach out to families and we're really glad to put a smile on the faces of the kids and the mothers."

This was the first time most of the women ever celebrated Mother's Day.

The packages contain cooking oil, flour, sugar, salt, beans, tea and green grams, as well as water dispensers, water purification tablets, re-usable sanitary towels, bathing soap and laundry soap.