More Alike Than Different

By Grayson Blair, Age 12

My mom, Lauren Blair, works for Kupenda in the U.S. and has been talking about Kupenda’s mission to support people with disabilities for a long time. She’s told my younger brother and I lots of stories about the people she’s met and the schools she’s visited in Kenya. We also learned that people there (and in a lot of countries) think that kids with disabilities are cursed by God and are often treated differently. In June, our family was able to visit Kenya and see the work Kupenda is doing, including meeting lots of children with disabilities. Maybe it’s because some of the kids know what it feels like to be left out, but they were incredibly welcoming and made us feel like friends right away.

While we were there, we got to visit a lot of places, but one of my favorites was Gede Special School. This was one of the first schools Kupenda supported children with disabilities to attend. First, we visited an occupational therapy room, where we saw kids learning hand-eye coordination, balance, and other skills. We got to talk with them and play games and instruments together.

We also visited a class for students who are deaf. One of the things I noticed first was that there was a large desk in a U-shape so everyone could see each other sign. I had never thought about how a classroom would need to be set up differently, but it made sense when they explained it.

My mom had taught us how to sign the alphabet in Kenyan Sign Language before we came, which helped us introduce ourselves. We could spell out our names, and the other students could sign their names back. During the lesson, we also learned about manners. We learned to sign things like “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me.” It ended up being really useful, and we kept using those signs throughout our trip. The other kids were also really encouraging when we got an answer right or signed something correctly.

After class, we taught the kids how to use rocket balloons, and we had lots of fun blowing them up, releasing them, and chasing them. We also taught them games like rock-paper-scissors. We ended up not needing many words to still have fun together.

My mom says that Kupenda is trying to create inclusive classrooms so kids with and without disabilities can learn together. I think that’s a good idea because even though we had different abilities, cultures, and languages, we still had more things in common than were different.

I was glad I visited Kenya, because I got to meet so many amazing people and do lots of amazing things that I hadn’t experienced before. I was glad that the kids with disabilities we met included us so much and that Kupenda is working to make sure they get to feel included too.

Want to keep updated on Kupenda’s work?

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X.

Learn more about Kupenda in our podcast.

Sign up for our newsletter.