Supporting Maasai children with disabilities

KENYA

Liz has worked as a physiotherapist for nearly 20 years in Kenya. Due to finding it too difficult to turn away children living with disabilities who were unable to pay her fees, she decided to provide free support to Maasai families who have a child living with a disability.

In addition to supporting children through treatment and diagnosis, Liz also runs holistic programs to break the stigma they face. People who have disabilities are traditionally hidden away from society as they are seen as a curse on the family, so Liz starts by educating Maasai mothers and fathers, explaining that their child is not a curse and that disability is a natural fact of life.

Liz then trains parents to help them meet their children’s specific needs when she isn’t there. She also provides kids with extra highly-nutritious food, medicine and treated mosquito nets as they live in areas with high rates of malaria. When possible she provides custom-fit wheelchairs for children who can’t walk.

Liz works with wider communities to help shift the current stigma facing children living with disabilities so they can thrive and participate in their societies. She conducts health conferences specifically for families with disabled children, and separate conferences for Maasai men, to help them understand the necessity of empowering Maasai girls and women. The conferences tackle cultural practices that harm girls such as Female Genital Mutilation, child marriage, and the tradition of women having up to ten babies in a row without a break between pregnancies. Getting the men on-board first is crucial to creating lasting change.

Most recently Liz has been working with local government officials and Maasai chiefs to register the births of children with disabilities so they can access the national Kenyan health insurance programme. Despite the many challenges she faces in creating systemic changes, Liz perseveres until Maasai children and families have the resources they need to live safe and healthy lives, in dignity.