Author: Lauren Blair

Addressing an Increasing Risk: Human Trafficking Among Children with Disabilities

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on April 14, 2023

Throughout the world, children with disabilities face increased vulnerabilities, including in the arena of human trafficking. Worldwide, almost 20% of human trafficking victims are children, and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities are disproportionately affected. This is particularly evident in Kupenda’s reach area, where high tourism and poverty meet, enhancing the likelihood of trafficking. Points…



Water Day Feature

World Water Day: How Kupenda Is Addressing Water Barriers for People With Disabilities

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on March 21, 2023

Kupenda for the Children works to expand opportunities for thousands of children with disabilities to live a more prosperous life, including when it comes to accessing clean water. Throughout the world, 2 billion people do not have safe water to drink, and 3.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation. That is why…



Tom and Karisa

Empowering Others to Serve: How Tom and Karisa Schreck View Their Long-Term Support of Kupenda’s Mission

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on January 19, 2023

For the past 14 years, I have had the privilege of knowing and doing life with some of my dearest friends and neighbors, Tom and Karisa Schreck. Tom is a software engineer and former board member of one of Kupenda’s nonprofit supporters, Adventures for the Cure. Karisa is a neurologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who…



Leah Battillo

ā€œThe True Value of Educating and Advocating for Othersā€: An Interview with Kupenda’s New Board Chair, Leah Battillo

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on December 20, 2022

This month, I had the privilege of interviewing Leah Battillo, a special education teacher, board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), and current Kupenda board chair. Last year, after deciding to step down from 12 years of board service (mostly as chairperson) to work as a program consultant for Kupenda, it was a privilege to transfer this meaningful…



When the Law Does Not Empower People with Disabilities to Make Decisions About Their Lives

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on November 4, 2022

One of the most fundamental human rights is the ability to make decisions regarding one’s own life. Yet for many people with disabilities, this right is not fully recognized by the governments or courtsĀ of law that preside over the communities in which they live. The ā€œright to legal capacityā€ is when a government recognizes a…



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