Child Success Stories

A person using a wheelchair works alongside others wearing safety vests and hard hats at a construction site, with teammates digging and installing materials near a small building in the background.

A Future Under Construction: Najibu’s Story

by Rebecca Heidorn

  • Posted on February 2, 2026

When Kupenda supported Najibu to enroll at his local polytechnic school—defying cultural stigma and barriers that often keep young people with disabilities out of school—he didn’t just begin a new academic program; he entered a season of growth, independence, and confidence. Today, he is thriving as a college student, building skills that will shape his…



Education Without Exclusion: Keeping Children with Disabilities in Their Communities

by Lauren Blair

  • Posted on January 26, 2026

In Kenya and many other low-income countries, children with disabilities face significant barriers to accessing education. Deep-rooted stigma often leads communities to believe that disability is a curse and that children with disabilities are incapable of learning or attending school alongside their peers without disabilities. As a result, only an estimated 2% of children with…



Healing the Helpers: Addressing Secondhand Trauma Among Local Staff

by Rebecca Heidorn

  • Posted on December 17, 2025

Caring for others changes lives, but it also takes a toll. Kupenda’s frontline staff in Kenya regularly walk alongside families facing stigma, trauma, and profound hardship related to societal perceptions of disability. Their counseling restores hope, strengthens families, and opens pathways to inclusion—but absorbing these stories day after day places a significant emotional weight on…



Shaping Inclusion: How Mainstreaming a Child with a Disability Transformed a School and Motivated a Community

by Kupenda

  • Posted on October 8, 2025

Furaha, a 21-year-old youth with brittle bone disease from Kilifi County, Kenya, spent her early education in boarding schools for children with disabilities, both at the primary and secondary levels. After her first year in secondary school, Furaha did not want to return to school, citing insufficient support and the distance from home. As a…



How Baraka is Thriving in a Vocation Program and Inspiring His Peers and Teachers to Support Inclusion for Students who are Hard of Hearing

by Veronicah Kuria

  • Posted on October 8, 2025

Baraka George, a young man who is hard of hearing, is making history at Adu Vocational Training Center. Thanks to the advocacy efforts of Kupenda for the Children and the commitment of his father—who trained as a disability advocate in Kupenda’s first parents’ workshop—Baraka enrolled at Adu Vocational Center this year, even though the school…



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