wherewework Global

Global Impact


At Kupenda, we design and test all our initiatives in Kilifi, Kenya, and then scale our evidence-based best practices globally. Instead of setting up offices around the world, we support existing nonprofits and government agencies in making their programs more inclusive of families with disabilities.

Below is a map of countries where we work.

Mobilizing International Nonprofits to Include & Support People with Disabilities


Kupenda has conducted local leader trainings, community sensitization events, resource gap analyses, site visits, and program design activities to help various international nonprofits make their programs more inclusive. These partners are now using our approaches to run programs, events, and trainings that improve the lives of people with disabilities in more than 30 countries around the world.
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165 countries have adopted laws and policies aligned with the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which promotes inclusivity and accessibility. However, implementation often lags behind. As a result, most people with disabilities continue to lack access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Social stigma and physical barriers further complicate their inclusion in society.

We are working to change this.

What we have accomplished

Cross International hired Kupenda in 2024 to conduct disability policy development trainings for 28 organizations in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Zambia. Today Kupenda continues to provide support to Cross’ nonprofit grantees to make their operations and programs more inclusive.

Micah 6:8 Foundation funded Kupenda in 2023 to adapt their running club curriculum to be inclusive of children and youth with disabilities. Kupenda is now piloting the curriculum in Kenya and equipping partners in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, Somalia, and South Sudan to do the same.READ MORE

CURE International partnered with Kupenda in 2022 and 2023 to use our strategies and tools to train 1,738 community leaders and hospital staff on disability advocacy and inclusion. Since then, Kupenda continues to provide technical support for expansion in Ethiopia, Zambia, Niger, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Malawi, and The Philippines.READ MORE

Kings College and Aga Khan University enlisted Kupenda’s Kenyan director in 2022 to act as an advisor on SPARK (Supporting African Communities to Increase Resilience and Mental Health of Kids with Disabilities), a multi-year collaboration between researchers and community stakeholders in Ethiopia, Kenya, the UK, and at the World Health Organization. Since then, they have trained 50 caregivers of children with disabilities in Kenya and Ethiopia and are now working to develop, test, and scale a caregiver training guide and disability diagnostic tool for children.READ MORE

Hope Walks hired Kupenda to develop a disability training specific to clubfoot in 2022. Since then, they have used our materials to train 498 church leaders and parents in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Niger, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, and Zambia.

World Relief contracted Kupenda to conduct an inclusion gap analysis of their Child Empowerment Zone curriculum in 2019. Since then, they have hired us or used our materials to train more than 1,910 World Relief staff and community leaders in Malawi, Rwanda, Kenya, Benin, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).READ MORE

CASE STUDY

Jenelyn’s Story


Jenelyn, 13, was born with clubfoot but her parents could not afford the surgery to correct her condition. As a result, they had to carry her everywhere and she was often made fun of by her peers. Fortunately, one day a visiting pastor came to preach at her church. He had been trained about disability by CURE International using an adapted version of Kupenda’s disability training for Christian leaders. After that, the pastor counseled Jenelyn and her parents and helped connect them to the funding and medical care she’d been waiting for all her life.

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TOGETHER, we can reduce harmful beliefs about disability and improve the lives of our world’s most vulnerable children. JOIN US!

A woman in a colorful headscarf and dress smiling with a child in front of her, both looking happy. Kenya written on the screen
A smiling woman and child in a public gathering, representing Kupenda’s work in Malawi.
A young man with a buzz cut and a bright smile sits among others in a supportive learning environment.
A smiling young girl with short hair wearing a white tank top, standing in front of an orange mud wall writing Tanzania on the image
A man in a green patterned shirt holds a large piece of paper, while others look on in a learning environment.
A boy sitting in a wheelchair wearing a pink and white shirt, looking directly at the camera.