Needy students with special needs benefit from Sh800,000 bursary

Bright and needy students including those with special needs have benefitted from Sh 800,000 bursary from a Community Organization in Seme, Kisumu County.

The Organisation St. Francis Oriang Development program is supporting over 6,000 students enrolled on the programme.

According to the Organisation's Executive Director Jude Kochieng', they have various thematic areas where they work, from supporting orphaned children, young women and adolescents, and people living with disability in the entire county and beyond.

They also have a program that targets equality health for all majorly dealing with sexual reproductive health and rights.

Kochieng' said the bursary cheque were distributed to the identified needy cases of children living with disabilities in various institutions, youths and children in various secondary schools within the sub-county and different sub-counties across.

He noted that apart from the Education docket, they currently have 6000 enrolled students in the program being

"Out of this number, we have boys and girls and youths living within the community. We have different interventions we are giving all aimed at mitigating and preventing HIV infection in the community.

Kochieng' took the opportunity to challenge parents to come out and talk about the issue of disability to help their children and not shy away from such conversation.

He said they should not hide their children in their households because if they bring them out and the assessment is done, correct placements can be done.

"And even shorter interventions. where they draw an individual plan where each child has got a unique intervention.

He said they are also trying to support the parents and educate them on how they can support their children.

"We realized that in most cases they do not have the skills and knowledge on how to take care of their children at home. So we have the parental programs where we are also encouraging them as much as we support the children. We are also equipping them with skills to take care of them while at home."

"We are saying disability is not inability, we must give the children living with disability a chance to participate equally just like any other regular child or case. "

According to Paul Muga,  her daughter has been supported by the organization from childhood and is currently in a special needs school in Nyabondo.

Mugabe said the daughter has Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus and is in a catheter all the time but she was studying and being taken care of the boarding school.

"I dont have any productive source of living, but am happy that my daughter is in school because, with her condition, I could have not managed alone with her in the house," he said.

He, therefore, encouraged parents of children with special cases to stop locking them in their houses and give them an opportunity to live their dreams.

Noda Adhiambo another parent said education is very important to all children and their disability should not stop them from achieving their dreams.

"My child is a special need case, but has been going to school since nursey being supported by this organization and we are more than grateful."