Author: Lauren Blair

kids in classroom

Introducing Kupenda’s Child Scholarship Program!

by Lauren Blair, Sandra Bauer

  • Posted on July 13, 2024

This month, Kupenda introduced its Child Scholarship Program. While the nature of this program remains the same as it did under the former Child Sponsorship Program, we believe that this new title better reflects that we are partners with the children in our programs and that, in the communities we work in, schools are often…



A Father’s Hope

by Lauren Blair, Thomas Katana

  • Posted on May 27, 2024

When Emmanuel was born, his parents and birth attendant were overwhelmed because they were unfamiliar with his disability. Emmanuel was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital anomaly that caused both his upper limbs and his lower right leg to stop developing. Complicating matters, his family felt rejected by their community. As in many low- and…



Kupenda’s Disability Guidebook: Supporting Communities to Better Understand Disabilities

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on May 3, 2024

In low- and middle-income countries around the world, people with disabilities are often neglected, abandoned, abused, or even murdered due to the belief that a person with a disability has been cursed by God or witchcraft. In response to this negative stigma, Kupenda utilizes a number of tools to educate communities about disability and what…



Fighting for the Right to Education and Inclusion: Rita’s Story

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on April 9, 2024

  Due to negative stigma about her disability, Rita’s parents abandoned her to the care of her uncle, Barnabas. Throughout Kupenda’s programs, 70% of children with disabilities have lost either one or both parents. This is due to social perceptions that disabilities are a curse from God and the lack of support families often receive.…



A girl smiling and seated outside in a wheelchair, wearing a brown checkered shirt.

Creating Possibilities: Living a Life of Achievement with Cerebral Palsy

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on March 19, 2024

Many years ago, while volunteering in a classroom at the Gede Special School in Kenya, a particular student’s smile always stood out to me. Gladys was a little girl with cerebral palsy, a developmental disability that affected her movement, posture, and coordination. Her demeanor was warm but unassuming. At home, her parents would often comment…



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