wherewework zambia
A group of people marching on a dirt road holding banners, advocating for disability justice and inclusion.

We have been working in Zambia since 2017, mobilizing social workers, parents, and pastors to reduce harmful beliefs about disability and improve support for families impacted by disability

PROJECTS IN ZAMBIA

Mobilizing Social Workers, Parents, and Pastors to Support People with Disabilities

Kupenda has provided trainings, tools, and technical support to help 3 nonprofits in Kenya make their work more inclusive. We also supported a government social worker in establishing a nonprofit devoted to improving the lives of children with disabilities. All of these partners are now using our approaches to run trainings that equip community leaders and families as disability advocates.

Despite national policies like the Disability Act and the National Policy on Disability, most people with disabilities in Zambia face significantDespite national policies like the Disability Act and the National Policy on Disability, most people with disabilities in Zambia face significant challenges due to limited accessibility, inadequate support services, and negative attitudes and beliefs about disability. challenges due to limited accessibility, inadequate support services, and negative attitudes and beliefs about disability.

We are working to change this.

In the past 7 years…

9,958 People with disabilities' lives improved
1,851 Social workers, parents & pastors trained
36,960 People sensitized about disability justice

What we have accomplished

CURE International adapted the model of Kupenda’s Disability Outreach and Inclusion Workshop for Christian Leaders and its tools to develop their own training. They then facilitated the training for 1,347 pastors in The Philippines and 7 African countries, including 371 pastors in Zambia. Within just a few months of the training, these trainees had welcomed 435 people with disabilities into their churches, made service referrals so 369 people with disabilities could access care, and sensitized 30,667 people in their churches and communities about disability justice and inclusion. READ MORE

Hope Walks contracted Kupenda to help them develop a version of our Disability Advocacy Workshop specific to clubfoot. In the first year they used the adapted curriculum, Hope Walks was able to train 437 church leaders and 61 parents in eight African countries (including Zambia) as disability advocates who are now providing counseling and care for thousands of children with disabilities in their communities. READ MORE

In 2019, our Kenyan director met a social worker from the Zambian Ministry of Community Development and Social Services at a conference in Lusaka. The social worker was moved by Kupenda’s work to improve the lives of children with disabilities by training influential local leaders as disability advocates. She visited our innovation center in Kenya to learn more and later founded a nonprofit to support children with disabilities in Zambia called Lilato. Lilato now runs Kupenda’s Disability Awareness Days and Disability Advocacy Workshops to sensitize communities and leaders in Zambia about the rights and needs of children with disabilities. This has enabled the organization to mobilize hundreds of leaders as disability advocates who have improved the lives of thousands of children with disabilities. The Government of Zambia also provided Lilato with a plot of land to host their office. READ MORE

Kupenda and directors from Special Hope Network (SHN) first connected in 2017 when they attended a grantees’ workshop organized by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). Soon after, SHN ran Kupenda’s Disability Outreach and Inclusion Workshop for Chistian Leaders for 58 pastors in their communities in Zambia. Since then, they have continued using our training to equip local pastors as disability advocates and have expanded their trainings to include teachers and health care staff. So far, 455 community leaders have graduated from SHN’s Kupenda-inspired disability advocate training program. READ MORE

CASE STUDY

Zavier’s Story

When Zavier was born with a cleft lip and palate, his parents were heartbroken since they couldn’t afford the surgery to correct the condition. Fortunately, things began to change for them after they met a ministry worker who had recently participated in CURE International’s Theology of Disability Training. This training is modeled after Kupenda’s Disability and Inclusion Workshop for Christian Leaders

READ MORE

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

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