TXF’s Charity Partner: AbleChildAfrica

TXF is proud to support AbleChildAfrica, a grassroots charity that helps children with a range of disabilities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. At the charity’s annual fundraising dinner, we spoke to some key individuals from the organisation to find out more about the issues facing disabled children in Africa and what the charity does to counter this.

So what is the challenge? “There is a common belief [across Africa] that having disability is a curse,” says programme and partnerships manager Lauren Watters. “Either that blame is put on the child or it’s put on the parent. Both are as harmful as each other.” This is, she explains, is coupled with a disproportionately high level of poverty among those living with disabilities as well as inertia from governments.

Working through partner organisations on the ground in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, AbleChildAfrica tackles these issues by helping disabled children gain formal education, lobbying governments for more inclusive policies, and challenging discrimination and marginalisation in local communities.

One of the charity’s most ground-breaking projects is the Little Rock School in Kibera, the biggest slum in East Africa. The school teaches hundreds of children and – crucially – is fully inclusive, accepting both disabled and non-disabled children. “Little Rock is a fantastic example of how if you put in a bit of effort and time into actually considering how you want to educate disabled children that you can actually so something that’s very successful,” says Watters. “The school sticks out like a sore thumb because it’s doing something incredible, it’s very colourful and the children are very happy there. One of the most exciting things is that it demonstrates that inclusive education, even in a big slum in East Africa, is possible.”

The recently announced Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have created a buzz of positivity that was keenly felt at the gala. For the first time, there are targets focusing on creating equality between disabled and non-disabled people. This is a welcome development, and organisations like AbleChildAfrica are needed now more than ever to ensure that the goals become a reality, as Anne Wafula Stike MBE explains. Originally from Kenya, Anne contracted polio at the age of two, resulting in a below T7 paralysis. She is now a Paralympic wheelchair-racer and a patron of AbleChildAfrica. “The goals are a good development, but we really need organisations like AbleChildAfrica to act on a grassroots level and make sure that the goals are properly implemented, that they are funded, and that they do not become empty words.”