Boresha maisha ya mama mlemavu
Women are considered as one of the vulnerable groups in society. According to the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Disability, its estimated that 1 in 5 women have disability.
Women and girls with disabilities face barriers to participation and inclusion. They represent a percentage of the world’s poor as a consequence of discrimination.
Article 6 of the CRPD responds to persistent marginalization and invisibility of women with disabilities by providing for their development and advancement and promoting measures to empower women with disability. On November 12th 2020, the project dubbed “Boresha Maisha ya Mama Mlemavu” was launched at Machakos Youth center.
This would see Women With Disability register with the National Council of Persons with Disability(NCPWD). The process of registering women with disability began on 16th November 2020 and went on until 21st January 2021 when the registration process came to a halt.
WWD registration at AIC Kawauni
Close to 2,000 participants inclusive of men, women and children went through the process which included medical assessment and are awaiting the next process which lies solely on the hands of NCPWD.
The objective of this exercise is to enhance inclusion of women, and to improve access for women with disabilities to privileges ,services and benefits targeting PWDS from the government, public sector and other service providers.
Some of the benefits that women will get from registering with NCPWD include:- Access to Government’s cash transfer program.
- Educational assistance from NCPWD based on severity of disability.
- Provision of tools of trade for those who have received vocational training.
- Under the Government Procurement Opportunities(AGPO) one is entitled to 30% of Government’s tenders ring-fenced for women, youth and persons living with disabilities
- Lack of information on the benefits of having a PWD identification card by NCPWD
- Poor access to facilities for medical assessment and registration e.g. level-5 hospitals.
- NCPWD branches are all situated in major towns
- Lengthy registration and approval process for PWDS to get identification cards-(Medical assessments, registration by NCPWD, approval process, poor delivery of PWDS cards etc.
- This project was made possible through the funding of European Union in collaboration with SITE Enterprise Promotion,NCPWD, Disability Community Centre and BLINK