Kajiado: Parents of children with disabilities in Kajiado County have been urged to register them to enable them to benefit from government funding and opportunities. Speaking in Kajiado town during celebrations to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, National Council of Persons with Disability (NCPWD) Officer Linda Jayanoris noted that many parents continue to hide their disabled children, thus denying them their basic needs and rights.
According to Kenya News Agency, Jayanoris called on parents and guardians to enroll their disabled children in institutions that will help in their rehabilitation instead of locking them indoors. “I want to urge parents to stop hiding children with disabilities at home but instead bring them out and register them so that they can benefit from various government opportunities and have an equal chance at life,” she said.
The officer revealed that many persons with disabilities in the county still lack important documents like birth certificates and Identit
y Cards, which are needed for registration with the NCPWD, making them continue to miss out on government opportunities. Jayanoris stated that persons with disabilities have access to 5 percent of job opportunities and 30 percent of government tenders, adding they should acquire identity cards to enable them to register with NCPWD, which will ensure that they take advantage of the opportunities.
Kajiado Central Deputy County Commissioner Jama Mahammud reiterated that children with disabilities deserve a right to education and warned parents against hiding them at home. The DCC directed chiefs and their assistants to conduct a mop-up exercise of all children with disabilities being hidden at home and bring them out so that they can be registered. “All children have a right to education including those living with disabilities, I am calling on parents to stop hiding them at home and enroll them in school,” he said.
AIC Child Care Centre Director Duncan Sakimba noted that the day’s theme: Amplifying the Leader
ship of Disabled People for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future, was a clarion call for all stakeholders’ accessibility and inclusion for PWDs. Sakimba emphasized the need for greater representation of PWDs in leadership to enable them to champion for policies that will eliminate discrimination of basic rights and services for vulnerable members of society.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is marked annually on December 3, to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities at every level of society and development, and to raise awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic, and cultural life.