Hundreds of people, including schoolchildren, attended this year’s International Day of Charity (IDC) celebrations, held recently at the Kisayani Special School for the Mentally Handicapped in Kibwezi District, Makueni County.
The event was organised by the Wendo Family Foundation (WFF), where the Kibwezi District Curriculum Support Officer for Special Needs Education, Mrs Phyles K. Mwau, was the chief guest at the function.
The International Day of Charity is an international day observed annually on September 5. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. Spreading global generosity and strengthening community support was the theme of this year.
Addressing the Kisayani Special School for the Mentally Handicapped function, Mr Eric Nyamai, an official from the Wendo Family Foundation, highly appreciated the event’s attendees. And he also highly appreciated their (the non-governmental organisation) partners, who include the Kitui Development Centre, Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), Compassion International, Kyatune Special School Kitui, Kenya Youth Federation (KYF) and SMPi Enterprises.
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The WFF official underscored the importance of inclusion for people with disabilities and why the foundation prioritises visiting special schools in Kenya. He noted that such visits are aimed at ending stigmatisation and showing love to learners who are often overlooked.
“Over the years, the Wendo Family Foundation has reached more than 15 special needs institutions across different counties in Kenya, including the Allamano Special School in Nyeri County and the Mutomo School for the Deaf in Kitui County,” Nyamai said. “The team mobilises itself through pledges and group contributions, spreading love and smiles in the best way they know-the charity way,” he added.
The Wendo Family Foundation is a charitable organisation dedicated to spreading love to those in need within society.
Nyamai, who is also a KDC official and a KYF official, extended heartfelt thanks to the Kisayani fraternity for their warm welcome and to the Wendo Family team for their tireless selflessness.
And he also acknowledged the presence of the Kibwezi District Curriculum Support Officer for Special Needs Education, Phyles K. Mwau, appreciating her role in championing disability inclusion. “Together we spread smiles. Together we end stigma,” he said.
And addressing the occasion, the event’s chief guest, Phyles K. Mwau, asked the parents to accept the advice from the special needs education officers for the good of their special needs children.
The officer called upon the Kenyan government to provide sufficient support to all learners with special needs in the country.
“Disability is not inability. So all the children who have disabilities should be taken to school for learning,” the educationist said. And she also asked the government to train enough teachers “for these children” and deploy them to the schools for teaching.
Kenya’s Education Ministry official said, “With early intervention, the learners with disabilities can live a normal life.”
The Kisayani Special School for the Mentally Handicapped’s Head Teacher, Mrs Jennifer Muinde, also addressed the function, disclosing that the institution has a total of 84 learners, eight teachers, and five subordinate staff members.
“I am the founder of the Kisayani Special School for the Mentally Handicapped. The institution is a public school. It was a unit and it was registered as a full school for the mentally handicapped by the government in 2015,” Muinde said.
“We have the autism class, the foundation class, the intermediate class and the pre-vocational class in our institution,” she said. “We don’t sit for Kenya’s national examinations,” the teacher added.
We don’t mind the learner’s age. Some of the learners are mature. Some are over 30 years, the Kisayani Special School for the Mentally Handicapped head teacher said.
By Boniface Mulu
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