We have been working in Tanzania since 2014, equipping 7 nonprofits to mobilize their staff and community leaders as advocates who reduce harmful beliefs about disability and improve support for families impacted by disability.
We have been working in Tanzania since 2014, equipping 7 nonprofits to mobilize their staff and community leaders as advocates who reduce harmful beliefs about disability and improve support for families impacted by disability.
PROJECTS IN TANZANIA
Equipping Ugandan Nonprofits to Support People with Disabilities
Kupenda’s technical support and trainings have enabled Ugandan nonprofit staff and social workers to reduce disability stigma and improve the lives of people with disabilities in their communities. These partners are now using our disability advocacy approaches and tools to run their own events and trainings that equip pastors, traditional healers, and community members as advocates for people impacted by disabilities.
Tanzania’s National Policy on Disability and Persons with Disabilities Act promote rights and integration yet lack adequate funding and resources for effective implementation. As a result, most Tanzanians 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.
In the past 10 years…
What we have accomplished
Kupenda held its first-ever disability trainings in partnership with Kulea Childcare Villages in Chalinze, Tanzania. Kupenda designed and facilitated five trainings for more than 100 government leaders, pastors, nonprofit staff, and parents of children with disabilities. Kupenda then worked with the pastor trainees to lead disability sermons at Chalinze Baptist Church and nonprofit trainees to secure and distribute wheelchairs to children with mobility challenges. A team of Kupenda volunteers also renovated a classroom for the deaf and made the toilets and library more accessible at Chalinze Primary School. Kulea’s staff has continued to run Kupenda’s disability advocacy activities and trainings for more than a decade since our partnership began.
Kupenda first visited the Erick Memorial Foundation for Education and Rehabilitation (EMFERD) in Morogoro in 2018 and facilitated their first disability training for pastors. These pastors became such effective disability advocates that EMFERD began holding these trainings every year, even training whole church congregations. As of 2024, they had trained more than 100 religious leaders in more than 60 wards in northern Tanzania. In 2021, Kupenda also supported them to run their first Night to Shine event, which sensitized more than 100 people about disability justice. They’ve held this event annually every year since, now helping thousands to understand the rights and values of people with disabilities.READ MORE
Kupenda began a partnership with the Gabriella Children’s Center (GCC) and HGT Travel Foundation in 2016 in the Hai District to arrange a Mt. Kilimanjaro disability advocacy hike that is showcased in our award-winning documentary. Three Kenyan teens with disabilities hiked the tallest mountain in Africa to show the world that “disability is not inability.”
Kupenda and GCC celebrated their accomplishment in a post-hike disability sensitization event was attended by more than 200 community members and covered by a local newspaper, reaching more than 1,000 Tanzanian residents. We are now working with producers, universities, churches, nonprofits, and community groups to share this film globally. To date, it has supported disability sensitization for more than 10,000 viewers around the world.READ MORE
In addition, Kupenda’s work with children with disabilities inspired HGT Travel Foundation’s founder to establish the nonprofit Autism Beyond Borders. This organization provides financial, educational, and emotional support to children and youth with disabilities, particularly those with autism. In 2016, we ran a training for their leadership team, demonstrating how to register, monitor, and follow up with beneficiaries using our Child Case Management Mobile App.
Longido Community Integrated Program (LOCIP) partnered with Kupenda in 2016 to run a training for parents of children with disabilities and lead a church disability sermon in Longido. The partners also worked together to establish a classroom for the deaf at Longido Primary School.
Resource Partners
CASE STUDY
Christina’s Story
After learning about the value of people with disabilities in a Kupenda training, Pastor Keke visited the home of a family whose daughter, Christina, had cerebral palsy. The parents refused to admit him or discuss their daughter. In response, Pastor Keke arranged to have another child with a disability dance at a community event. This powerful performance surprised Christina’s parents and they began to wonder if she was capable of more than they had imagined for her. They decided to talk with Pastor Keke and see what he had to say about her situation.
TOGETHER, we can reduce harmful beliefs about disability and improve the lives of our world’s most vulnerable children. JOIN US!