29 Children Receive Wheelchairs Thanks to Our Pandemic Screening and Response Systems

Calling our families to make sure they are safe and healthy during the pandemic is supporting far more than Covid-19 prevention — this month it helped us learn that more than 30 children were struggling at home without access to their wheelchairs.

Many of the children’s assistive devices are trapped in schools which are closed and far from their family homes. As a result, families were forced to rent wheelchairs for as much as $2/day (equivalent to most families’ daily income!) or painstakingly carry their children everywhere.

Fortunately, one of our program alumni who uses a wheelchair himself started to notice this trend during the family health screening calls he’s been helping us with. He notified our Kenyan Director, Leonard Mbonani, of the problem. Leonard responded immediately.

“This pained me and [and so I] quickly raised this concern with the head teacher of Gede Special School. I was a little emotional during the discussion but all I was doing was creating a true impression that it is awful to hold these wheelchairs at school [due to] fear that children will spoil [the wheelchairs] at home.”

Leonard’s phone call convinced the teachers and so the same day they called the parents of 15 children to come and pick up their children’s wheelchairs.

Leonard then identified 14 additional children who were most in need of wheelchairs and who did have access to any such assistive devices. Using our Medical Program funding, he then ordered these chairs and administered them to the families last Friday (the children remained at home to keep them safe from Covid-19 exposure).

We are also now partnering with Bethany Kids Children’s Center to secure even more wheelchairs for children during the pandemic.

This is just one example of how Kupenda and Kuhenza mobilize leaders and graduates as child advocates who identify needs, solve problems, inspire new partnerships, and help to keep children with disabilities safe and healthy!

Do you want to be part of this life-saving work?

A wheelchair only costs $100 in Kenya! 

Please consider a donation to support our children’s medical needs during Covid-19.  

Plus, now through April of 2021 all donations will be doubled thanks to a generous matching grant from the Westwood Trustees!

Want to keep updated with Kupenda and Kuhenza’s work? You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. And please also sign up for their monthly newsletter and updates here. 

If you’re interested in supporting one of the many children they serve, head over to their sponsorship page to learn about how you can make a difference for just $30 / month.