PHENOMENAL FEMALES - MEET MENTOR CECILIA MOOLAMAL FROM THE ACTION FOUNDATION

Cecilia Moolamal is a mentor at the Ibuka Mentorship Program at The Action Foundation. She joined TAF last year to mentor girls living with disabilities from Kibera. Cecilia loves advocating for the rights of girls and women living with disabilities. Through her work as a social worker, she has been able to serve children through home-based care. She advocates for all her mentees to understand their rights and ensures they all go to school.

At TAF, she has been able to join other women in understanding their rights as persons living with disabilities. She lingers on at a time when she was dismissed from work with no basis for dismal by her then-employer. She says, if she knew then, she would have sued the employer for wrongful termination on the basis of discrimination against people with disabilities. Cecilia urges employers to break stereotypes and attitudes that hinder people living with disabilities especially women from accessing opportunities for employment. 

When she sits back to reminisce, her current role as a mentor puts a smile on her face. She is able to speak up for the young girls she is guiding with utter confidence. She can now express herself unapologetically and do the things she previously felt she could not. With the loss of her job in home-based care during this COVID 19 pandemic, she still hopes there will be greater outcomes for all women and girls living with disabilities.

Being born with a physical disability, attending school for Cecilia was cumbersome. With the help of the Kilgoris Mission School, she was able to complete her education and proceeded to Kisumu Polytechnic for her certificate course in Community Development. She also pursued her Diploma in Social Work at the Kenya Institute of Social Studies. As the pandemic situation lifts, she looks forward to visiting her mentees and to secure a new job in an organization that fosters holistic growth for all persons with disabilities.