Background

According to World Health Organization (WHO), persons with disabilities in developing countries such as Kenya, form 15% of the country’s total population. 56% of Kenyan Population is  currently living under the poverty line i.e. with incomes of less than one dollar a day. This results in hunger, malnutrition, inaccessible basic health services, and more, which are the major causes of disorders in brain development. As a result, the population of people with mental disabilities in Kenya form 60 – 70% of the total population of the disabled. Around 2.9 million Kenyan people are currently living with a mental disability or a mental disability.

A person with a mental disability faces extra challenges in his life. The attitude and response from relatives, peers and community will strongly influence his development.  However, communities and families are confronted with many difficulties including poverty, illiteracy, lack of resources, violence, and many more. This makes an appropriate response to disability quite difficult. People with a mental disability are often associated with black magic and witchcraft. Families tend to hide children with a mental disability out of shame or despair. Often they lock their children in their homes and, as has been reported by the Down Syndrome Society of Kenya and the Kenya Society for Mentally Handicapped, sometimes even in cages. As a result, instead of positively being engaged, a person with a mental disability is often confronted with negative attitudes right from birth, like isolation, rejection and even abuse. Most people with a mental disability have a mild to moderate mental retardation. However, they can learn and are capable of developing skills throughout their lives.