The renewed interest in children’s rights can be directly linked to the desire to infuse social reforms with a child-rights approach. In particular, derived from the need to ensure the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the domestic level, the starting point is a community system able to include and promote the life of children with disabilities
Though the legislative provisions for persons with disabilities have improved over the years, the specific protection of children with special needs is still highly inadequate and requires a lot of collaborated efforts by key stakeholders while the government budgetary allocation for this sector needs more prioritisation. The ultimate test is their overall rights protection within their family and child-inclusive communities.
To date, existing responses for children with disabilities have been inclined towards institutional rather than community-based care. Institutional care however, apart from being relatively expensive, is against the rights of children to non-discrimination through social inclusion and it has been proved to hinder the holistic and balanced development of children. Their detachment from the community enhances an identity crisis and renders them less prepared for life outside the institution. Moreover, it removes the social responsibility of the community towards its most vulnerable members.
Institutionalisation therefore is not and cannot be a long-term goal.
The policy of non-institutionalisation has witnessed few key programmes providing community-based alternatives for the protection, rehabilitation, support and development of children with special needs. These programmes have strived to demonstrate viable community alternatives to institutional-based care. Their success, however, has been hindered by a myriad of direct and underlying constraints mainly at the community level. The constraints include cultural stigma against disabled children and instability within the family set-up because of poverty or social issues which are a stumbling block for many households. Poverty compromises the capacity of the community to effectively provide for the needs of children with disability. The ubiquitous Kenya stigma surrounding them also reduces family care as parents and relatives feel ostracized by the community.
As a result, caregivers feel forced to hide their disabled children or to seek opportunities for support outside their communities.
In order for the community to adequately provide for its children with disabilities, efforts are to be focused on re-establishing and strengthening culturally appropriate community support systems for them, such as providing avenues for cultural acceptance and promoting a higher understanding of disability itself and how to cope with it.
“Sometimes real superheroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battles”
