THE ACTION FOUNDATION – COMMUNITIES DRIVING CHANGE FOR THE INCLUSIVITY FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Reflecting on the past ten years, Maria Omare, the founder of The Action Foundation, is rightly proud of her accomplishments. It felt like just yesterday that she was a university student at Kenyatta University and was looking for something to help her pass her time during her long holidays. As luck would have it, she came across an opportunity to volunteer with the special Olympics for a stipend as a nutritionist -which was her area of study. During this time, she saw how forlorn persons with disabilities felt. She interacted with the children with disabilities and would spend time with them playing games and their demeanor would change. They would be happier and more energetic. She realized that when she went back to school and came back, she would find them sad and inactive again because this engagement was not consistent.
Like most community driven organizations, The Action Foundation was born out of passion and desire to inspire change. Maria’s mission was to change the narrative that children living with disabilities are a burden to their families or that they represent a curse to the families. Armed with nothing but determination, Maria fundraised amongst her family members and amassed 50 USD. She rented a room in Kibra Constituency (Mashimoni, Laini Saba) in Nairobi stood in the middle of the room and asked herself, ` What have I gotten myself into?`. Nonetheless, Maria persisted. She started awareness sessions and campaigns amongst parents and she realized that there was need to really provide support for the parents and care-givers in addition to the children. Parents and Caregivers face isolation and discrimination from society and community members due to entrenched stigma against children with disabilities. Maria then started providing health services, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and nutritional support for a handful of children.
Maria soon realized that she needed to learn how to manage a non-profit and fundraise to keep her programs going! When the community noticed how much the children had shown progress, they joined her in mobilizing the community for walks and donations to fundraise. Maria also leveraged on the wide network of volunteers from universities who provided free therapeutic services. Before long, she quickly overgrew the small room. A new challenge befell Maria. She needed to accommodate more kids and needed a new larger space. Maria broadened her skill set by partaking in prestigious fellowships with Akili dada, Ford Foundation and the State Department for Young Professionals. The Action Foundation also found a home with the AMPLIFY community. These networks have helped build her personal capacity as a leader and that of the foundation.
The attention to and inclusion of children with disabilities has not been as mainstreamed as we would like to have in our societies and communities. Parents, children and care-givers still face stigma and pity as opposed to normalcy. The Action foundation currently serves more than 600 children. It has immersed itself in the mission to build a resilient community. Amongst their top priorities is supporting children with disabilities to access quality and inclusive education from their early years. In a multi-sectoral approach, The Action Foundation provides interventions with support to the community school teachers, parents and adolescent boys and girls. This is to provide holistic support to the children with disabilities. To further accommodate their learning needs, The Action Foundation has invested in creating a digital learning platform through mobile and web-based avenues. Recently, they launched the Somesha App, A #MobileApp Building Community for Inclusive Early Childhood Education for All.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0lGWKUUX-0
The Action Foundation is a founding partner of AMPLIFY! Maria is an elected AMPLIFY Board member and assists with the day to day strategy and implementation. TAF is a powerful CDO who is at the center of inclusive education and support and it is imperative that we center organizations like TAF in new models of development placing those closest to the problem also closest to the power.
Few times in life, we are faced with a defining moment that determines the trajectory of the remainder of our lives. The decision to establish the Action Foundation was one such moment for Maria, away from the lucrative calling of employment and private practice as a nutritionist. In establishing the Action Foundation, Maria provides an avenue of hope and the promise of a better life for children living with disabilities and their parents and caregivers. It is our human duty to provide a safe space for them and create opportunities of inclusivity to ensure that they live to their maximum potential.
We ask you to support The Action Foundation, give directly to their work and create long term community led change.