By Waridi Ajambo,
“I like watching my friends sew and I want to be able to learn that,” says Faith Nyatuke, a 24-year-old who lives in London, an informal settlement in Nakuru County.
She directs us to her workstation at the Family Life Initiative Program (FLIP). As a person living with a physical disability and a mental health condition, Faith has confronted obstacles trying to get employed. Entrenched prejudices about disability mean she hasn’t often been accorded the same opportunities as her peers.
“I had started to believe that I couldn’t do anything but then I joined FLIP in late 2020, and now I am capable of trying different things,” she says.
Faith was a recluse, with her life revolving around the home she shares with her parents and niece. The restrictions that came with the pandemic further exacerbated matters.
At home, her responsibilities were mainly house chores while her parents who are in the informal employment sector and live on minimum wage went to work.
Fate intervened and Faith met Eunice Nyawira, the group leader of FLIP and a community officer with the county government of Nakuru around the London area.
FLIP works with single mothers around the area but they made an exception for Faith.
“Eunice came home and asked my parents if I could join FLIP,” she recalls.
Faith’s worldview changed and opened her eyes to opportunities in which she could immerse herself. They offer training in beadwork, mat-making, tailoring, and wig-making, and the products made by the members are for sale.
The group’s primary goal is to empower women by equipping them with skills that will enable them to earn a living without being dependent.
“Faith is one of the group’s most active members and she visits the centre every day from 9 am to 1 pm to improve her skill,” reveals Eunice.
The pandemic made many young women vulnerable and heavily impacted their ways of making a living.
%20during%20a%20training%20session.jpg) |
| Eunice Nyawira (middle) during a training session |
“Gender-based violence and early pregnancies were prevalent before the pandemic but it became harder to ignore during the pandemic, especially in this area,” emphasises Eunice.
Most of the women are single mothers and they are unable to commit to the program full-time because of other responsibilities but Faith makes her way there daily. Faith makes shaggy mats and is self-driven even though it is harder for her to crotchet her mats.
“I take longer to finish my mats because I can only use one hand but I keep trying to increase my speed so that I can have more mats to sell to the clients that visit the centre,” she says.
Faith likes that she makes her own money.
 |
| Faith Nyatuke makes a shaggy mat using her left hand, as her right hand- affected by a disability- lays stiff on the mesh. |
“I like that I can make some money from the sale of my mats. I can buy the essentials that I need and I can help my parents at home. My parents are getting older, the menial jobs they do are getting harder and I want to support them as they have supported me,” she says with a smile.
Faith is particularly drawn to sewing, for she will need specialised gadgets that will enable her to work efficiently with her left hand.
“Faith is very hardworking and she would like to learn these skills but she is limited because of her disability. The machines that we have do not cater to her needs hence why she only makes mats,” says Eunice.
From her income, Faith has also been able to set up a business selling fruits near her home.
“I sell watermelons after I leave the centre and that gives me a daily income which I didn’t have before. I have set up in front of a shop near my home. I can talk to my customers and they understand me. I want to set up my shop with time so that I can make more money,” she explains of her new venture.
According to Bertha Akoth, an SGBV officer with the county Government of Nakuru and the Women and Youth officer at Gaplink international, FLIP is a safe space for people like Faith because of how they address issues they face. She has seen Faith’s progress.
“She wasn’t conversational and now she communicates,” says Bertha Akoth.
Bertha’s organization works with FLIP on various occasions to provide resources to continue accommodating single mothers in the area.
“That is the importance of inclusion for persons living with disability, they can pick up social cues that are necessary, isolation makes it harder for them to cope,” states Bertha.
According to Bertha, even as we strive to empower PWDs with economic skills we have to address issues they face in their personal lives.
She insists that the government still needs to do more to provide equitable conditions for them.
There is a relationship between poverty and disability in Kenya, with approximately 67 per cent of persons with disabilities in Kenya being impoverished.
The 2019 census by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics states that the poverty rate of persons with severe disabilities is one in two (42percent).
“During the COVID-19 pandemic period, the challenges facing disabled people became rampant and most of them felt neglected,” adds Eunice.
Most people with disabilities are casual workers, with the stay-at-home regulation a lot of these jobs were closed and that set them back.
“The government offered to give stipends for food to the less privileged and people living with disabilities, this came as a relief and a lot of disabled people registered their names at the local administration offices to receive support but not everyone got the relief,” Bertha comments.
The National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection launched a strategic plan to take steps toward improving inclusivity.
“We have to start somewhere, the NCPWD career portal was created in an effort to grow their careers by providing them with opportunities to gain skills in both the formal and informal sectors,” she explains.
Faith’s experiences have changed; all this is because of inclusivity. Platforms such as FLIP need to be empowered to ensure that they can create space for more people living with disabilities.
The platform has shown Faith that there is more out there for her and she is hopeful that she will be able to achieve some of her dreams on her journey to financial freedom.
“This experience showed me that if given the right space and I am included in day-to-day activities then I can give my best.”
