Due to cultural beliefs and poverty constraints many disabled children end up abandoned, if not left to die of illness or starving. There are no statistics on this, but there are frequent reports of abandoned disabled people. Many of them also end up in juvenile criminal institutions because the Kenyan Government does not have adequate facilities for their reception and care.
In 2001, in order to address the issue of children and in conjunction with significant national political changes, the Children Act was passed by the Kenya parliament, a new law on minors drafted in accordance with the New York Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) which declared the protection of the rights of disabled children. Despite this, the Kenyan Government does not currently plan adequate actions to address the problem of disabled children and there are insufficient plans to improve public rehabilitation facilities designated for their care in the coming years. It is therefore the community that is called upon to take responsibility for ensuring the survival, care and development of these children.
Although the law is based on the recognition of the rights of all children, such as life, non-discrimination, a caring family, education and health, in reality the government’s action is fragmented and inconsistent with more demonstrative than responsive actions. Disabled children are still considered ambivalently and treated as carriers of stigma more than children in need of care and protection by incurring abuse of various kinds. In addition, the limited juvenile government institutions responsible for their care offer protection that often differs from what is established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that minors “will be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person” (Art. 37).
“It takes an open minded individual to look beyond a disability, and see, that ability has so much more to offer, than the limitations society tries to place upon them.”
In this complex situation, government intervention policies provide for a willingness to involve other partner actors such as NGOs, the local community, churches of various denominations, etc. in facilitating the search for and application of solutions for disabled children in need of protection and care. It is within and in collaboration with this institutional framework that this project is located. In fact, it provides for actions aimed at disabled children through institutional channels such as school or more informal ones such as the local community.