KWALE, Kenya – An outreach programme aimed at bringing disability services closer to residents of Vanga Ward in Kwale County has exposed significant gaps in access to legal documentation, education support and government social protection programmes.
More than 400 residents turned up for the integrated service delivery exercise held at Khasarani Village in Lunga Lunga, far exceeding the organizers’ expectations and highlighting the growing demand for services among persons with disabilities, caregivers and their families.
The exercise was organized by G-For-Girls Initiative through its Kwale Education and Mentorship Action Project, in partnership with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and other government departments.
Residents accessed disability registration, birth certificate applications, voter registration, SHA registration and national identification services without travelling long distances to government offices.
However, the high turnout also exposed challenges that go beyond registration, including children struggling in school without proper assessment, lack of birth certificates and young people without national identification cards.
G-For-Girls Initiative founder and director Priscah Mongera said the outreach was prompted partly by challenges identified among children participating in the organization’s literacy programme in six schools across Vanga Ward.
Mongera said some learners had remained in the same class for several years without making significant progress, raising concerns that some could have intellectual or other disabilities that had not been identified.
“You may find a child who has been in one class for two or three years and still cannot write their name or recognize the letter A or numbers one and two. It is possible that the child has that disability,” Mongera said.
The organization is targeting at least 100 children and 100 parents for registration in Vanga Ward, including parents of children already enrolled in its literacy programme.
Mongera said the organization uses a digital application known as Nyansapo AI to assess learners and categorize them according to their literacy levels, enabling the development of more targeted interventions.
She cited findings from one of the schools assessed, saying 89 per cent of 104 learners were still at the letter-recognition level.
According to Mongera, the findings demonstrate the need to identify children who may require specialized support rather than simply categorizing them as slow learners.
The outreach also revealed that the lack of basic documentation is affecting access to education and other government services. Mongera said some children do not have birth certificates, a situation that can affect their recognition within government education systems.
“If a child is not in NEMIS, the money meant for education cannot reach the school because that child is not counted,” she said.
She also raised concern over young people aged between 18 and 35 who lack national identification cards, saying the absence of the documents could limit their access to voter registration, scholarships, training opportunities and other government programmes.
Mongera urged the Kwale County Government to domesticate the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, and ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are incorporated into county development plans and annual budgets.
She also called for stronger collaboration between government departments and community organizations to take essential services to remote communities.
The demand was so high that the organizers were forced to extend the exercise beyond the planned one day.
“We planned to offer this service for one day, but you can see the turnout is now over 400 people. It will not be possible to serve all of them today. The exercise has to continue tomorrow,” Mongera said.
Kwale County Director for NCPWD Emily Muembe said the large turnout demonstrated the need for increased public awareness and more frequent outreach programmes.
Muembe said more than 7,000 persons with disabilities are currently registered in Kwale County, with the number continuing to rise as more residents become aware of the registration process.
She identified physical disability as the most prevalent form of disability in the county.
But for many families, registration is only the beginning of a much longer journey towards accessing government support.
Among those seeking services was Mwanahamisi Mricheni, a resident of Kiwegu Village, who brought her child to the outreach to obtain a disability certificate.
Mricheni said her child has difficulties with speaking and walking and has been undergoing exercises to improve mobility.
“I came to get my child’s certificate and register the certificate to G-For-Girls programme,” she said.
She said obtaining the disability certificate could make it easier for her child to access support that had previously been out of reach.
At Kiwegu School, teacher and G-For-Girls Initiative patron Steven Ngome said the outreach had helped bridge the distance between rural families and government services.
Ngome said some learners at the school do not have birth certificates, affecting their recognition in government education systems.
“This service has been very important because for many people, reaching those offices far away has been a challenge. But the organization has brought the services closer to them,” Ngome said.
He said identifying children with disabilities could also help the government understand their needs when planning and allocating resources.
Ngome urged authorities and partners to make the outreach services continuous so that residents who missed the exercise can benefit in future.
“I would prefer that this does not end today, but that the service reaches those who were unable to get it today so they can access it another time,” he said.
For some persons with disabilities, however, registration has not translated into financial assistance.
Joseph Kamangi Muthike, a resident of Mwalewa Village in Lunga Lunga, said he had already been registered as a person with a disability but had waited for years without receiving assistance.
Muthike said he had visited government offices in Mombasa and Lunga Lunga seeking help but had repeatedly been told to wait.
“It is now four years and I have received nothing,” he said.
He said the situation had affected his ability to support his children, some of whom are in secondary school while others have remained at home.
“I am a person with a disability. I have struggled to the point that I had to come to these officers to see whether they can help me. I have tried everything,” he said.
Muthike appealed to the government to pay greater attention to persons with disabilities living in rural areas.
His experience highlights a critical gap between being registered as a person with a disability and actually accessing government support.
Responding to concerns over the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme, Muembe clarified that registration as a person with a disability does not automatically qualify an individual for cash assistance.
She said the programme targets people with severe disabilities who require constant care, and beneficiaries must also be formally enrolled in the Inua Jamii programme.
“It does not mean that once you are registered and receive a disability certificate you will automatically get the money. You must be enrolled in the Inua Jamii programme,” Muembe said.
The clarification comes as residents continue to seek greater understanding of the link between disability registration and eligibility for government social protection programmes.
The large turnout at Khasarani has presented both an opportunity and a challenge for government agencies and community organizations.
While taking services closer to residents can help families obtain critical documents and disability certification, the demand witnessed during the exercise suggests that one-day outreaches may not be sufficient to address the needs of communities across Vanga Ward.
For families such as Mricheni’s, obtaining a disability certificate could be the first step towards unlocking access to support.
For people such as Muthike, however, the bigger question remains whether registration will ultimately translate into tangible assistance.
The experience in Vanga Ward has therefore underscored the need for continuous outreach, better coordination between government departments, early identification of disabilities and stronger integration of persons with disabilities into county planning and social protection programmes.
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