Having a disability should not keep a child from attending school like any other child. When you support a child’s education, you are investing in their future and the communities in which they live!
Access to schools, teachers, materials, and learning equipment best suited to meet the child’s unique needs
Access to medical checkups, procedures, physical/occupational therapy, medication, assistive devices, and vaccinations
Access to professional counselors who advise families on stigma reduction, inclusion, wellness, legal rights, abuse prevention, and referrals
Inclusion of children with disabilities in community schools, which fosters attitudes of acceptance and enables them to join activities and make friends
Assistance getting to schools and health facilities
Access to food support, nutritional guidance, and safe feeding training for caregivers
Career counseling and supported access to higher education, vocational training, and income-generating activities
Worldwide, an estimated 98% of children with disabilities are not enrolled in school. Due to pervasive stigma about disabilities in low- and middle-income countries, many children with disabilities are hidden or abused, without access to many of the same opportunities as their peers.
Kupenda scholarships improve these outcomes by providing children with disabilities access to an education that suits their needs and other critical support services they need to thrive.
There are few schools in Kenya equipped to meet the individual needs of students with disabilities, so the best options are often special needs boarding schools. While Kupenda supports students in the existing infrastructure, Kupenda is also working with local government and community leaders to make more schools fully inclusive and eventually decrease the need for specialized boarding schools.
In tandem with our scholarship program, Kupenda utilizes family counseling and disability advocacy training programs. These activities help to reduce stigma against children with disabilities so they experience greater support and inclusion in their homes and communities. As a result, more of these children complete their education and go on to pursue advanced degrees, vocational training, or income-generating activities that equip them to reach their full potential.
Note: Your credit card will be charged $35 each month starting on the day you sign up and on the same date each month.
Yes. Just mail a $35.00 check each month to Kupenda for the Children, PO Box 473, Hampton, NH 03843 and make the check out to Kupenda for the Children.
Yes, send a check with your quarterly or annual payments. Quarterly payments are $105.00 for 3 months and annual payments are $420.00 for 12 months. You can mail the check to Kupenda for the Children, PO Box 473, Hampton, NH 03843 and make the check out to Kupenda for the Children.
Kupenda for the Children in a non-profit organization and therefore all contributions are tax deductible. Our EIN is 16-1644867. You will receive a receipt for your taxes by mail in January for all the previous year’s contributions.
If the child is of school age (6+ years) the money will go directly to the school to pay for boarding fees, special staff like teacher assistants, dorm parents, and cooks who directly help your child at school. At the special school your child will receive three meals a day, a specialized education, therapy, counseling, and opportunities to make new friends and develop physical skills.
If the child is too young to attend school, then the family will receive a monthly stipend for food, medication, and transportation to a medical facility. They will also receive counseling and training from our Kenyan staff.
You can terminate your sponsorship at any time. The sponsor is not obligated to sponsor the child for any length of time. You only have to notify our sponsorship coordinator at [email protected] and she will terminate your account.
If your child dies, graduates, or permanently stops attending school, the organization will terminate their sponsorship and the sponsor will be notified. At that time the sponsor can end sponsorship or choose another child.
Each year you will receive a progress report and a recent photo of your child. An attempt will be made to get a report out to you at about the same time of year that you enrolled as a sponsor.
This report will let you know what progress is being made academically, what medical assistance has been given the child, progress in family relationships, and updates on other activities that the child may be involved.
It is challenging to communicate with your child as most children and their families do not have computers or mail service.
If you feel you need to communicate you can send an email to [email protected] and our USA staff will forward it to our Kenyan staff.
In January our directors usually travel to Kenya. They can take letters or small packages with them to give to the Kenyan directors. An attempt will be made to deliver these to the children but there is no guarantee.
1. Go to kupenda.org/sponsor/
2. Click on the “Sponsor Log In” button at the top of the page
3. Log in with your password
4. Click on edit account
5. Click on update credit card
6. Enter new credit card details
Kupenda is a registered 501(c)3 organization. Our EIN# is 16-1644867. Your scholarship support is tax deductible.
For more information, see our Scholarship FAQs or contact our scholarship coordinator at [email protected].
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Kuhenza and Kupenda transform harmful beliefs surrounding disability to those that improve children’s lives.
