ANDY takes rights message to Kisumu

20 young persons with disabilities in Kisumu are ready to deliver real change for persons with disabilities after attending training with ANDY in March.

 



Integrated transport, Kisumu-style!



They attended ANDY’s civic governance workshop, which educates participants on the rights of persons with disabilities in the new Kenya, and how to use them to benefit themselves and others all over Kenya.

 

The participants were brilliant - engaged, committed young leaders who are ready to take up the challenge of becoming ambassadors for persons with all types of disability across the country.

 

They contributed to lively conversations around the rights contained within the constitution as well as Kenyan and international law. These cover everything from the right to an education and to work to the right not to be called abusive names. We then focused on how we can turn the promises in laws into a reality – to end the discrimination which persons with disability continue to face.

 

Kisumu's disability rights advocates

Joshua Ogembo, Andy’s Programme Manager for Human Rights and Advocacy, delivered the message that in many areas a change of attitude is needed to fully enjoy the fruits of the constitution. For example, the right to work is not a right to a job. An employer will not hand out jobs because someone has a disability – they have to be properly qualified first.

 

Another clear message is that persons with disability need to take their place at the decision-making table, with many participants building careers in local politics and representing their interests in their communities. But making sure talented persons with disabilities are able to fill the 5% of all political posts which are now reserved for persons with disabilities is only half the story. To make sure that politicians cannot ignore disability issues, persons with disabilities have to register as voters. This is one of the messages our participants have committed to carrying into their communities as part of the programme’s outreach work.

 

As part of the programme, sponsored by Open Society Institute, ANDY has produced a simplified guide to the rights of persons with disabilities.

 

We are recruiting participants for our next workshop, in Mombasa in June. So if you are a young person with a disability living Mombasa, or a disabled persons organisation working in the area, and would like to be given the skills and knowledge to bring about positive change, please email jcogembo@andy.or.ke

We have outreach workers trained and ready to deliver sessions on disability rights to organised groups of persons with disabilities, and mainstream groups, in Nairobi and Mombasa. Please email Joshua on the address above if you would like on of them to come and empower your group. For more pictures of the event click here .