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Eldoret, Kenya
Persons with disabilities in Langas informal settlement in Western Kenya have long faced exclusion and limited economic opportunities. Through business skills training, the Breaking Disabilities Barriers project is equipping participants to start small businesses and generate a sustainable income. At the same time, a whole-community approach teaches practical ways to include, support, and empower persons with disabilities. These efforts strengthen, household stability and economic resilience and while fostering dignity, participation and inclusion.
Hope TV Kenya featured the project in a news report, helping raise awareness of the challenges facing persons with disabilities and the need for greater community and stakeholder support.
Edmund Rice Eldoret Empowerment Program Director, Clalffin Achimba said persons with disabilities possess valuable skills and can become self-reliant when provided with the necessary support. She called on the county and national governments, as well as development partners, to invest more in programmes that empower persons with disabilities.
She says,
If you have ability, if you can move with a wheelchair, if you can sell something, if you can come out and be independent, you can try for a livelihood.
The Edmund Rice Eldoret Empowerment Program team also appealed for additional space and resources to expand the project’s outreach, noting that although the project serves more than 500 beneficiaries, the current facility can accommodate only 70 people at a time.
Participants welcomed the support, saying it offers an opportunity to build sustainable sources of income rather than relying on charity. They also urged authorities to address obstacles that prevent vulnerable families from accessing government assistance programmes such as Inua Jamii, a National Safety Net Programme designed to support poor and vulnerable citizens, including persons with severe disabilities.
The News report highlights the growing importance of economic empowerment initiatives in improving inclusion and enhancing the quality of life for persons with disabilities.
And persons with disabilities in the Langas neighbourhood of Uasin Gishu County, who have long complained about social exclusion, have benefited from business training and seed capital to start small businesses. Empowering them to generate their own income. Some of the beneficiaries highlighted long-standing challenges, including difficulty in accessing essential government services. They lamented that whenever important services are provided to the public, Such as the Inua Jamii (National Safety Net Programme designed to support poor and vulnerable citizens, including persons with severe disabilities), some end up being excluded because they lack the capacity to advocate for themselves. According to Claffin Achimba, the director of the Edmund Rice Organisation, people with disabilities possess diverse skills and have a great capacity to empower themselves if they receive Seed Capital. Achimba has now called on the government and other donors to step forward and support people with disabilities.
If we depend on sitting by the roadside or begging, we might not get helped. If you have the ability, if you can move with a wheelchair, if you can sell something, if you can come out and be independent, you can try for a livelihood.
So we are asking the County Government, potential partners or, even the National Government. As you can see, we have limited space to conduct our good program. So, if you can support us, make our work easier. Maybe someone of goodwill can give us enough space to hold our people together. We have more than 500 beneficiaries but our room can only accommodate up to… 70 people.
I’ve never had any assistance from the government. Like for example when I go to register for Inua Jami, I am told that I’m not qualified. I cannot be assisted. And yet at the same time, I have children who are disabled. But still, I cannot be listened to. Someone just looks at you and says you don’t qualify. Or they promise you, but at the end of the day you will not get that assistance.
We actually registered for this Inua Jami, but we, I haven’t even received it. I have never received it at all.
In Langas, Eldoret, people living with disabilities face stigma, exclusion, and limited access to education, health care, and livelihoods. Caregivers often feel isolated and unsupported.
The Breaking Disability Barriers Project, led by the Edmund Rice Eldoret Empowerment Program (EREEP), is the first initiative of its kind in Kenya’s North Rift region. It takes a whole-community approach to create lasting inclusion.
With your support, children and persons with disabilities in Langas can live with dignity and equality, supported by informed caregivers and inclusive communities.
