Standing together for children with disabilities in Kenya

If you’ve ever felt like giving up, there’s someone we’d like you to meet.

Lillian, 10, was born with cerebral palsy and developed polio early in life. Around the age of 5, one of her legs began to curve – and within a couple of years she could no longer walk.

Without a school or community that could accommodate a wheelchair, Lillian dropped out of kindergarten at the age of 6. It was around that time that her family heard about ChildFund’s Tusimame Pamoja project.

Tusimame pamoja is Swahili for “we stand together.” For many kids and families where ChildFund works in Kenya, the phrase is also synonymous with hope for a life where inclusion and accessibility are the norm.

Through the project, Lillian was able to attend a medical camp to meet her needs. Then she was referred to a partner hospital in the project. She received a walker and leg braces from ChildFund and eventually underwent an operation to help straighten her leg.

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“I’m so happy Lillian is able to go to school,” says her mom, Susan.

Support for children with disabilities

Stories like Lillian’s are shared by dozens of children in the project area. The Tusimame Pamoja project connects children with disabilities – especially those that impact mobility, like cerebral palsy – in several counties of Kenya to the health care they need to thrive. It also connects the wider disability community, aiding people with disabilities in starting businesses and improving their financial stability.

First, children are assessed by health care professionals before receiving physical therapy services and assistive devices to help increase their mobility. Parents and caregivers are also trained in physical therapy practices in order to deliver services to their children at home more regularly. To date, 171 children have received these services.

Four-year-old Monicah and her mom Josephine (25, in purple) are a few others who are grateful for the project. Here, Monicah is receiving an evaluation by occupational therapist Mary Njoroge at a local specialty hospital. Monicah, who is sponsored through ChildFund, has cerebral palsy and cannot walk, talk or eat solid foods – at least, not yet.

“I love my little girl,” Josephine says following the evaluation. “I’ll continue to take her to [physical] therapy. I was told she needs a special chair to be able to sit. I was given some exercises to do at home that will help her get stronger. I’m hopeful that she’ll improve with these new exercises.”

Josephine’s thoughts are backed by science. While cerebral palsy can’t be cured, treatment like physical therapy will often improve a child’s health outcomes – and the earlier treatment begins, the better chance children have of achieving developmental milestones.

Often in underserved communities, lack of knowledge about certain medical conditions, or lack of access to health care facilities, can prevent children from receiving diagnoses for many years. Boniface, 15, was just diagnosed with cerebral palsy the day this photo was taken.

“I thought his condition was because of jaundice,” says his 80-year-old grandmother, Monicah, who raised him. She is thrilled to now have such concrete knowledge and training on how to improve his quality of life. “I will continue with the physical therapy,” she says.

But perhaps one of the most impactful aspects of the program is simply how it brings an entire community together. Family members and other adults with disabilities are learning life-changing skills, too.

Because people with disabilities face greater barriers accessing economic opportunities than their able-bodied counterparts, they typically remain among the most excluded and hardest-to-reach community members. People with disabilities are more likely to drop out of school and less likely to access education. In turn, they have a harder time earning an income as adults, leading to financial challenges.

That’s why the Tusimame Pamoja project also includes support groups for people with disabilities. Through the program, 133 people have been trained in practical entrepreneurship skills and financial literacy, then provided with seed capital to start businesses themselves.

The community occasionally even comes together for special events – like the disability walk that was held to commemorate World Disability Day on April 21. The event included a parade, children’s activities and tree planting and doubled as a fundraiser, raising a total of 900,000 Kenyan shillings to fund six corrective surgeries for children with physical disabilities.

Esther, mom of 13-year-old Gyan, sums it up best: “I know I’m not the only one with a child who has disabilities. There are many of us.” And with numbers – with that sense of community – comes strength to manage the special challenges these families face.

As these loving families from the Tusimame Pamoja project all know, children of all abilities can and do thrive with adequate accommodation. They can and do have much to contribute as they grow, learn and dream. It takes standing together to create a more inclusive world for all – because we need each other.