Micah 6:8

80% of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in isolation. 78% of people with disabilities in developing countries do not receive any type of special services. In Kenya, there is no percentage or number available for how many people with disabilities there are. The UK estimates that it is probably about 10-25% of the population though because of factors like poverty, inaccessible healthcare and education services, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is also said that there are around 750,000 students at the elementary level with special needs. Of that, 90,000 have been officially identified but even then, only 26,000 are enrolled in schools. 

The government does not raise much support and provides minimal funding despite the magnitude of the need. People with disabilities have been marginalized during the distribution of resources because they have been perceived as burdens to society. Even though efforts have been made to bring justice, the lack of adequate government funding still prevents many people with special needs to receive the care and resources they deserve.

There are many injustices and inequalities taking place in the education community in Third World countries. People with disabilities are denied justice, equality, and educational opportunities. 

Since high school, I have known that I want to become a special education teacher. It was not until later in high school and especially since being in college that I realized God’s calling for my life to live abroad and start a special education program in a developing country. Since first feeling that tug on my heart, I have had the desire to go to Africa. I planned to student teach there and see what opportunities God would provide. My plans accelerated when I received the opportunity to study abroad in Kenya this semester.

I have been in Kenya for about fifty days and have fifty more to go. I have seen my desire to become a teacher blossom from my first observation in a government-run public school, to my observation in a private-run missionary school. After spending time in a few children’s homes, and with the people at Mother Teresa’s Home for children and adults with cerebral palsy, I have seen the Lord shaping me and building up my desire to teach abroad. I would be willing to teach in the States, but I have seen the global needs of God’s people, from a first-hand perspective, and hope to continue to be challenged to make a change by what I have seen.

Since being in Kenya, I have personally met a girl with Down syndrome in a rural area of Northern Kenya, who has been stuck in nursery school her entire life because she has never gotten the extra help she needs to move on to primary school. She is around 13 years old. I have also seen gifted children with exceptional intelligence levels who will never reach their potential because the materials are not challenging enough for them or their school lacks funds for new higher-level curriculum. “A questionnaire focused on whether individuals with behavioral and emotional disorders are capable of learning. Seventy-eight percent answered that the curriculum does not provide the necessary strategies to teach such students."

I have learned that many factors that play into the injustice:

* The negative perception of people with disabilities, stigmatization, and superstitions. There are many superstitions in Africa that view disabilities as “a curse from the gods.” Many people with special needs could be considered demon possessed and a majority of people in Kenya still believe that a disability is “retribution of past deeds by the ancestors." Many parents are ashamed of their children and I have heard of some children in rural areas being beaten because their parents think their child is possessed or a burden to their community. “In a survey administered to regular and special education teachers, administrators, social workers, and teacher education students at Kenyatta University on the societal perception of individuals with behavioral and emotional disabilities, 80% of the participants indicated that the Kenyan society perceives these individuals as being mad or possessed by demons."

* The Kenyan school system remains highly examination oriented and children who would struggle succeeding in national exams are exempt from schooling because boards cannot see the need for educating someone who cannot pass the exam.

* Class size makes it hard for teachers to give one-on-one attention. I saw this personally in the school that Hannah student taught in. Not only were the classrooms physically tiny, but the 20+ students were crammed into bench-like desks. I could easily see how difficult it would be for Hannah to be able to assist a student on a one-on-one level in that classroom. 

* School buildings are not accessible, making it difficult for students with physical disabilities to attend and assistive technologies like wheelchairs and hearing aids are expensive and not provided. 

* There are not enough teachers trained to provide students with the extra assistance they need.

* High tuition for special needs schools prevents many parents from being able to send their children to a school that would give their child the help they need. 

* The lack of adequate government funding and poverty level of parents with children who have disabilities are other preventative factors.

I wanted to learn more and get an insider’s perspective on the injustices I hear about and see. I decided to ask one of my Kenyan friends what he thinks.

I asked him: “Why in today’s society, with all the progress being made and increased awareness among the youth, are so many people still uneducated about the needs of people with disabilities?”

He responded: “Our generation wants to help. People need help. But, wisdom and responsibility comes with age. People look down on those with disabilities. Especially in rural areas where they are even made outcasts. People with disabilities are looked at as ‘not normal’ or ‘wicked people’. Rural areas can still be ignorant and don’t know they are normal people just like you and me…with defects.”

I paused awhile and then asked him: “What is your advice on how to make a change?”

He responded: “Keep doing what you are doing. Advocate for knowledge and education. Otherwise there is no betterment of society where development is still needed!”  

In Third World countries, the amount of money available for education purposes is not enough to provide equal facilities, teachers, and curriculum; let alone provide special needs schools, programs, and equipment. My desire is change. I think that every person deserves the right to education and the dignity it provides. Throughout the years and with the abundance of technology among many youths, Kenya has begun making large bounds towards addressing needs and many more people are becoming aware of the overwhelming need. Even though efforts have been made to bring justice, the lack of adequate funding still prevents many people with special needs from receiving the care and resources they deserve. Why should where you live determine the kind of education and help you receive? This is why I want to teach in a Third World country: to do my small part in bringing about justice to a marginalized group of God’s beautiful and diverse kingdom.

Micah 6:8 "What does the LORD require of you but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?"