A Kenyan woman has narrated how she had to boil stones to make her children believe that she was preparing food for them.

Penina Bahati, a mother of eight, could not find menial jobs because of coronavirus so she had no food to eat.

The widow who lives in the coastal town of Mombasa put stones and water in a cooking pot and placed it on the fireplace until her children drifted to sleep.

Her neighbour told NTV that she found out when she came to check on her and appealed on social media where well wishers have donated food for Ms Bahati.

The widow has received money via mobile money and through a bank account that was opened for her by her neighbour.

She has been overwhelmed by the donations and was quoted by Tuko news website as saying she had seen a "miracle".

Kenya's NTV channel shared a video:

Kisauni widow “cooked" stones for her children as a ruse to stop them crying. The mother of eight lost her income due to coronavirus containment measures and was no longer able to feed her children. #NewNormal @Warungu pic.twitter.com/JfPknEWnbM

— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) April 30, 2020