Alongside our Administrator, Nick McKenzie, I do the daily office duties such as sending and receiving post, dealing with office incomings and outgoings, answering the telephone and dealing with general emails. In addition, I am in charge of our 35 dedicated Virgin London Marathon runners: I send them weekly emails full of fundraising tips and ideas, any resources they might need such as collection tins and AbleChildAfrica t-shirts and answer any queries they have about reaching their fundraising target of £1500. Our Marathon runners are a vital and highly cherished source of income for a small charity such as ours, and it is very important that we nurture a strong relationship with all of our runners. I have found this element of my internship by far the most enjoyable – all feedback from, and correspondence with, our runners has been extremely positive and it is great to get to know the different characters that make up our Marathon Team.

I decided to join AbleChildAfrica because I wanted to work for an organisation that sought to better the lives of youths with disabilities and that truly valued disabled young people as active members of the community. It was very important to me that AbleChildAfrica supported what appeared to be very impressive grassroots African organisations that find African solutions to African problems. I wasn’t disappointed – our African partners are truly inspiring in what they have accomplished in their communities.

What is brilliant about any internship at AbleChildAfrica is that interns are made to feel highly valued members of the organisation and are given the opportunity to voice the areas they find the most interesting/challenging in monthly Learning Objective meetings. From these discussions, targets are outlined as areas to work and expand on, so that each intern’s experience is tailored to their own requirements. In this sense, internships at AblechildAfrica have been designed to be programmes in which to learn and gain valuable working experience. When I began in January I highlighted that my skills lay in writing, that I wanted to expand on my interest in marketing, fundraising and social media as a promotional tool, and that I struggled with all things IT-related! In just 3 months, I have been trusted with writing up letters to be sent out to donors, have become proficient in Twitter and, much to my surprise, my IT skills have improved dramatically so that I no longer struggle terribly with programmes such as Excel! I will be expanding on the experience and knowledge gained at AbleChildAfrica in my next academic venture as a Masters student in Human Rights at UCL, beginning next September.

ANDy is delivering a ‘Sports for Change’ programme in partnership with AbleChildAfrica and supported by Comic Relief that offers opportunities for economic empowerment as well as regular sports clubs to improve  the self esteem, confidence and health of young people with disabilities so they can reach their full potential.

Here are some updates and case studies from their great work.

Friendly Swimming Match

Winning Celebrations!

ANDY’s  swimming team was invited by a group of young people with disabilities based in Bombolulu, Mombasa. The match was held on 17th of March 2012. The disciplines which were competed included; free style and breaststroke. In both of these ANDy emerged the winner! ANDy’s team was represented by 7 participants who comprised of 5 Physically impaired and 2 Deaf participants.  Participants stated that the friendly match was a good initiative as it is a measure of knowing their abilities and creating team work. It was also a chance of networking and meeting other groups out of Nairobi.

Entrepreneurship Training

Participants after an entrepreneurship training held in March 201

Last week Lilly invited Christine and I to Little Rock’s end of year graduation ceremony.  It was a fantastic few hours.  Held in a church, each of the classes got up on stage one by one, and presented a song or a poem or dance routine.  There was even a short play based on the Good Samaritan parable.  Those children graduating and going on to primary school then donned their robes and caps, and received their certificates in a ceremony that resembled any high school or university graduation.  I have to confess that up until this point in the proceedings my eyes watered on several occasions – to see the confidence in some of these children, and the potential, and the manners, and the ambition, you just know that they have received these from Little Rock – the work is huge and the responsibility massive.

The penultimate agenda item for the day was the traditional thanking of the school teachers.  One by one Lilly read out their names & job titles and they took to the stage bursting with pride – you could see that they were so proud of the children’s performances that day.  And as they stood there, facing the audience, I had one of those moments that only lasted a few seconds, but in my mind time moved in slow motion and I was able to conduct a full and detailed analysis of the dynamics surrounding me.  The audience consisted of three groups, first, parents of the children that were graduating.  You could feel and almost touch the bond between these parents and Lilly – she knew each one by name and it was clear that Lilly was part of their lives.  The second group was a selection of previous graduates.  This group had gratefulness written all over their faces – grateful for the leg up that Little Rock had given them as they attended proper school – grateful for the open arms that the after school reading and tutoring classes offers them - grateful to be looked up to as examples for the current Little Rock students – grateful to and for Lilly.  The third group was family and friends of Little Rock.  Being part of this section, I knew that the vibe I was giving out was awe.  Awe at seeing something so simple and right executed perfectly - communities are supposed to take care of their needy, and this Lilly person has managed to action where many of us have only dreamed.

Written by Larry Blackstock

We are delighted to announce an anonymous donor matched all donations for 2012 pledged on the evening. This generous donor has just agreed to extend the deadline to make your donations go further! It is not too late – join Friends of AbleChildAfrica by the end of the year (December 31st 2011) and instantly double your donation. Our goal is to raise a further £3,245 before the end of the year to reach our donor’s challenge of raising £20,000 for match funding.

Shikuku Obosi, Trustee

Click here to find out more about Friends of AbleChildAfrica and to join now.

Spakers on the night included Anne Wafula-Strike, AbleChildAfrica Patron, athlete, author and sporting ambassador who is currently working to qualify for the British paralympic team and Shikuku Obosi, AbleChildAfrica Trustee and astute human rights activist, having had a personal experience of childhood disability growing up in his native country Kenya. Performances came from Francesca Martinez, an award winning comedien known for her performances on the festival circuit, London stage and role on Ricky Gervais’ Extras and Venavi Drums, an African drumming and dancing troupe who brought a little bit of Africa to London on the night!

The evening was a lot of fun and we have received some great feedback.

Francesca Martinez, Comedienne

“The speakers were great, the entertainment was fun and the MC was on top form. I especially enjoyed the bashing which Francesca (Martinez) gave the Tories, Bankers and other groups of people, who were all well represented in the hall. No one can accuse us of sycophancy!” – Zia Choudhury, Trustee.

“Everywhere I turn, I see a worthy cause and the list is endless. What last night did for me was to make a particular cause more real. Last night, I felt I was really contributing to something, to making a difference. The programme for the evening was effective at getting me to feel something for the organisation to which I was giving a donation and the people AbleChildAfrica supports. It also made me feel like I grew a little more knowledgeable, a little more empathetic and a little more inspired. Thank you.” –Colin Lyons

“Thank you so much for last night – it was AMAZING. It was beautifully done and I had some of the most interesting conversations with the speakers. I feel very motivated to re-engage and continuing supporting AbleChildAfrica.” – Kat Tucker

Click here to find out more about Friends of AbleChildAfrica and to join now.

Venavi Drums Performance

Steve Broach, Chair & Jane Anthony, Executive Director

Anne Wafula Strike, Patron

Tournaments and Competitions

In line with the program’s objectives, friendly matches and tournaments are held between users of the Sports for Health Project after every three months. Two months ago a friendly match was held in swimming, the match ensured that both disabled and non-disabled youth participated, the winner was one of ANDy’s deaf participants.

A wheelchair tournament has also been held in which ANDy’s team has played against the Nairobi Wheelchair Basketball team. Although ANDy’s team lost the match, they gained a lot in terms of team spirit, confidence and motivation. In addition to the match and tournament, ANDy’s deaf volleyball team played against the local Planet deaf team and succeeded in showcasing their skills on the field. ANDy’s sports program has received popularity within Nairobi and nationally as well because on 24^th September a feature was ran during prime time news on one of the local television channels; this has attracted more participants to join in the program.   

Emma Wambui is a participant in the Sports program and is involved in swimming. She lost her sight about 4 years ago and is grateful to be in the program since April 2011, she resonates this by saying;

Keen racers during a friendly swimming match

“Since I joined the Sports for Health project, I have become a changed person, I have socialised a lot, met many people and my physical fitness has greatly improved. I lost my sight in 2008, and between 2008 and 2009 I was being rehabilitated and I was not able to participate in social activities……… with my lack of vision, swimming is one of the few skills which I can defend myself against enemies with, in this case being floods or large masses of water. It is also a skill in which I don’t necessarily need my sight in order to do well. I hope to continue with swimming even if the project comes to an end as I believe that by the end of the project I will be perfect in it.”

Access to Work Training

Participants during one of the training workshops

In addition to the Sports Project, training workshops on business development are being held regularly. The initial session was held on 15^th and 16^th August and involved participants being trained on how to develop business plans, effective curriculum vitae and application letters. As a result of the training, 15 viable business plans have been developed by the participants and ANDy’s team is in the process of supporting the businesses set out.

Fredrick Ouko,

Executive Director - Action Network for the Disabled

Catherine, who is blind and partially deaf, is among the first to secure an employment opportunity thanks to the Sports for Health programme. The programme uses regular team sports to build health, confidence and prepare young persons with disabilities for employment or running their own business.

Just three months after she joined ANDy’s programme, Catherine has started an internship as a phone operating instructor at Nairobi’s Kenyatta Industrial Rehabilitation Centre.

Catherine joined ANDy’s swimming sessions, where she is coached in the sport to gain confidence and develop skills like teamwork and leadership. Catherine says: “I am also gaining skills during the various workshops being organised at ANDy, some of the skills I am applying at my place of work, I have learnt about writing Curriculum Vitae and developing application letters. I am happy to be a beneficiary of the project”.

The majority of Nairobi’s estimated 150,000 young persons with disability below the poverty line, with fewer than 5% in employment and less than 10% gaining access to education. Cultural stigma around disability means that often even their own families have low aspirations for children with disabilities, with many ‘hidden away’ from the community. ANDy and Able Child Africa developed this programme to give them the confidence, skills and opportunity to escape this life of dependency and achieve independence.

Since ANDy launched the programme in April 2011, 50 young persons with disabilities in Nairobi  have actively participated in Wheelchair Basketball, Table Tennis, Deaf Volleyball and Swimming. Regular attendance leads to training in vital skills like CV-writing, interview techniques, while those with entrepreneurial aspirations have received business development and business plan preparation course.  Alfred Simiyu, ANDy’s basketball coach, says: “You can see the participants’ self-esteem, confidence and mobility improving tremendously after just a few weeks of the sessions.”  Click here to see pictures of the sports in action!

ANDy then thoroughly assesses each participant business plan or their qualifications, skills and experience before either matching them with either a job opportunity or internship which ANDy is securing with a range of employers, or distributing a small start-up grant to get their business started.

We have already trained 35 of the participants in entrepreneurship including, how to write a business plan, do market research, marketing and how to source for additional capital.

The ultimate aim is to help young persons with disabilities to live an economically independent life, gaining the skills and experience to secure permanent work or to develop and run their own successful business.

But the opportunity to play sport is itself a rarity for many in a country where public transport, buildings – not to mention basic information and services – are often inaccessible to anyone with a disability.

Catherine explains why the swimming has helped her get back the sporting aspect to her life which her disability threatened to take away.    “When I was partially deaf, I was quite active in the ball games, however I also lost my sight and hence was not able to play the games any more as I could not be able to see the ball. The opportunity to join in the sports and health project has provided me the opportunity of joining swimming and I am learning on how to become a swimmer. Swimming does not require sight as I just need to be guided in the water.”

Action Network for the Disabled (ANDy) vision is to create a barrier-free society fully inclusive of persons with disability in Kenya. ANDy’s mission is to advance and advocate for equal opportunities for youth with disabilities, through promoting proactive social and economic participation; programs and projects are targeted to youth who have limited access to opportunities and information.

Partnership Visits

ANDy’s Sports for Health Programme has received a visit from the Handicap International team responsible for mainstreaming and inclusion in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. The team visited the sports venues and sessions to learn more about ANDy’s programme and play along with participants. The Dadaab team’s activities are centralized around advocating for persons with disability rights, empowering them with knowledge and opportunities and enhancing the accessibility of services for them. They also have sports for persons with disability within the refugee camps and hence were particularly interested with ANDy’s success in the sports for health implementation.

I will be leaving USDC on the 31^st of August 2011. By that time I would have served USDC, in various capacities, for 22 years and 8 months. My first duty station was in Luwero district where I served as Field Coordinator for 14 years, I later moved to the head office as the M&E Officer, a position I held for 2 years and later took on the post of Field Director, which I held for 2 years. From July 2007, I have served the organization as the Chief Executive Officer.

As it turns out, I now win myself an accolade of longest serving Staff of USDC! Something I find very interesting having assured Mr. Jonathan Hett (first Executive Director of USDC) and Mr. Bernard Muller (First Field Director) in November 1988, that I was going to stay for only one year!!!! I feel most privileged now, to have achieved such an unintended honor.

I will always have very fond memories of USDC, for it is the only place I have known as a work place. I will always treasure the difference that USDC has made in the lives of thousands of children with disabilities out there, many of whom have gone on to start successful careers. I will always be very proud to have been part of their dreams, directly or indirectly.

How does one explain cases like the one of Johnathan*, one of the first youths with disabilities that I got in touch with in Luwero. Jonathan was afflicted by polio, which affected his lower limbs and he was a crawler.  When I first met him min 1989, Johnathan was a Kabalagala (our version of pancakes) vendor. When I mentioned to him the possibility of support to help him learn a skill, he told me off, saying he was not interested. He had earlier met people from other NGO’s whose promises for support had come to naught. He was now weary of NGO’s, feeling they were after using people like his as ladders! My pleas to give USDC a chance landed on deaf ears, he was not interested.  One year down the road, after seeing other youths with disability return from vocational school, he asked his mother to talk to me because he was now interested and could he please get another chance? That chance was readily given.  Jonathan trained in leather craftsmanship and 22 years down the road he is a successful cobbler in a popular area and is married with children. When I met him sometime back he told me that he valued what USDC had done for him and was ever grateful.

How about another story, that of Peter* who was an orphan and blinded by cataracts since an early age. Peter was known as the little boy that went around the village knocking objects. With USDC’s support, Peter had cataract surgery and is sight restored, he now wears glasses. What about Matthew*, who had contracted polio, affecting his right leg.  USDC supported an operation and braces, allowing Matthew to throw away the single stick he used to hobble with!  Matthew is now an advocate of the law, having graduated in 2006. USDC was part of this success, not just through the operation, but meeting some of his school dues too.  Each of these beneficiaries, and countless more like them, now help spread the messages of inclusion for disabled individuals by being highly visible members of their community and role models for young disabled children.

The memories are so many, and mostly good.  I thank USDC for this opportunity to change lives!!!

Thank you – USDC

*All names of children have been changed to protect their identity.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all the banks who donated on the night!

The offical obiturary which appeared in the Times on 5th Jan is reproduced below:

Old-school diplomat who influenced British policy towards South Africa under apartheid
A diplomat who served as British Ambassador to South Africa at a decisive time in that country’s history, David Scott spent most of his distinguished career in Africa, with interludes as Deputy High Commissioner in Delhi, and High Commissioner to New Zealand.

David Aubrey Scott was born in 1919, the son of Hugh Scott, a housemaster at Wellington. After beginning a conventionally classical education at Charterhouse he read mining engineering at the University of Birmingham, where he met his future wife, Vera Ibbitson. After a war spent largely as an instructor in aircraft radar, he became chief radar adviser to the British Military Mission in Cairo, with the rank of major in the Egyptian Army.

In 1948 he joined the Commonwealth Relations Office, and in 1951 was posted to South Africa. It was there that he acquired his life-long enthusiasm for watching birds. He was promoted head of the Central Africa and Territories department in 1958, with responsibility for the High Commission Territories, the Central African Federation and Southern Rhodesia. One of his duties was to act as guardian to Prince Bereng, later King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho.

From January 1959 Scott had to concentrate his attention on the Federation, which, it had become apparent, could not be kept alive against the wishes of its constituent parts. In 1961 he became Deputy High Commissioner in Salisbury and was with R. A. Butler at the Victoria Falls Conference when the Federation’s dissolution was negotiated. Although there was considerable friction between the British and Federal Governments, he made friends with politicians, black and white. So close did he become to the Federal prime minister, Sir Roy Welensky, that when Scott wrote his memoirs, Ambassador in Black and White, (1981) Welensky gave him full access to his papers.

After Delhi, Scott’s next African posting was to Uganda, where he was able to persuade President Obote to delay measures against the Asians, which would have turned a trickle of emigration into a flood. In March 1976 he returned to South Africa as Ambassador and got off to a good start by facilitating the withdrawal of South African troops to South-West Africa from Angola. Scott soon decided that the Republic’s “homelands” policy had no future, but did his best to help South Africa by publicly pleading that it should provide more ammunition for its friends. He left South Africa on retirement in June 1979, his departure having been delayed by the defeat of the Callaghan Government.

He was a greatly respected diplomat of the old school, who described himself as a worker on the shop floor of history, and valued above all the traditional diplomatic virtue of detachment. He combined gravitas with humour, kindliness and liberal principles, and exerted considerable influence on British policy towards South Africa.

After retirement he had a fulfilling career in business and put his South African experience to good use as vice-president of the UK-South Africa Trade Association from 1980 to 1985. He took an interest in a number of charities, and was a Governor of Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Sir David Scott, GCMG, diplomat, was born on August 3, 1919. He died on December 27, 2010, aged 91

Some remarks by our patron, Keith Nethercot:

While it may be appropriate to describe his style as ‘old school’ and all that this may define, his commitment and love for the people of Africa, would be hard to match by any ‘new school’ diplomat. His modesty is reflected in the decision to grant the collection at his funeral to ACA, without any fanfare.

For USDC his energy and commitment was an important legacy. His wife, Lady Scott, was no less a supporter and sat on the London USDC Committee for many years.