ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 Message from Our Board Chair
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THE ACTION FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 Message from our Board Chair Dear Action Foundation Colleagues, supporters and friends, 2019/2020 was a record year for The Action Foundation (TAF). Not only did we reach new milestones in all three of our program streams: Tunza that focuses on Health and Wellbeing, Somesha on Inclusive Education and the Ibuka Program which centers on Women and Girl Empowerment; but out of more than 400 nominated innovations, our inclusive early childhood education project. Our Somesha program has been able to reach more than 1600 children to-date, improve attendance to 55% and launch our Somesha Online app. With the Tunza program our key highlight was the production of our own inhouse assistive devices made from recycled cardboard. Finally, our 50 of our girls on the Ibuka program are soaring high after being given mentorship on STEM and life skills. ` The board of directors would like to thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to our cause. Without you, TAF would not have reached the most vulnerable children and people in our society. I am very appreciative of this as we face the current challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic including the interruption of the schooling of all children across Kenya for over 8 months. We are so proud of momentum and pace with which our team adapted and responded to the changing needs.Our outreach efforts during the lockdown ensured more than 400 families had vital supplies of food, water and sanitary supplies. The question now is, how do we continue to expand our reach? Our board has spent the better part of 2019 discussing TAF’s strategic plan in order to answer that question. The answer is this: It’s time to expand not only our reach to other parts of Kenya but also the depth of our interventions while addressing the root causes of the stigma experienced by children, women and girls with disabilities. This will involve a shift in thinking at both community and policy levels. Our work in inclusive education has supported this for not only schools but also parents and communities This new way of thinking is embodied in our vision – a fully inclusive society where children and young people with disabilities can realize their maximum potential. We know our vision is attainable — as long as we work together. Are you with us? Poonu m Poonum Wilkhu Chair of the Board of Directors 2 Message from our Founder & Executive Director 10 years ago, I founded The Action Foundation while pursuing my undergraduate studies determined to transform the realities of the lives of children and young people with disabilities. From the modest contributions of our volunteers, we brought health education, nutrition, and disability awareness to low-income communities. These efforts have evolved and grown in leaps and bounds to meet the most pressing needs of young people with disabilities and their families across Nairobi’s informal settlements. Our work with children, women and girls begun from a 6 square ft room in Mashimoni Village in Kibera slum and has since impacted hundreds of children at our Hub in Bombolulu, Kibera as well as with our partner schools and centers in Kawangware, Mathare and Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums. The families we support have been adversely been affected by COVID-19. With the support of our partners, we have implemented different interventions to meet their nutrition, hygiene, safety and educational needs. We held a series of online webinars to identify the gaps in direct therapy provision during this COVID-19 period and explored practical alternatives to direct therapy during this period. With the generous support of our community and donors, we distributed food items, hygiene supplies, food vouchers, and masks to hundreds of households to help them cope with the negative impacts of the pandemic. We work tirelessly in our 3 program areas with a goal of contributing to inclusive and resilient societies where communities where children and young people with disabilities can thrive. In our annual report, we are humbled that we had our biggest year yet. We were able to make remarkable strides and provide holistic care and support to children, women and girls with disabilities who are furthest left behind. As we mark a decade of transformation in December 2020, we are immensely grateful for our community of support which makes our work possible. MariaOmare Maria Omare Founder and Executive Director The Action Foundation 3 Meet our Team! The Action Foundation’s diverse team comprises of professionals, community members and those with lived experience of having a disability and caregiving for children with disabilities. We are driven by our core values and strive to create inclusive societies where all children, women and girls with disabilities can thrive. The Action Foundation team's visit to our Tunza Program Partner - Bilian Centre in Mathare 4 Programmatic Achievements and Milestones TUNZA: Health and Wellbeing • 250 children benefited from assessments, occupational therapy and referrals to specialized support. We also co-organized medical camps with Kenya Pipeline Company and County Government of Nairobi in Mukuru slum where we conducted disability assessments. • We facilitated 15 parent workshops at our Hub in Kibera and partner centre in Mathare where 165 parents were successfully taken through our care for children with disabilities tool kit.The training included lessons on nutrition and feeding, behavior management, child handling and positioning, early identification of disabilities, child protection and acceptance. • TAF provided nutrition support and counseling to 150 children with disabilities and their families in Kibera, Mathare and Kawangware urban slums through nutrition education, assessments and food distribution • We increased access to mobility and postural support through Appropriate Paper-Based Technology (APT), an innovative and low-cost technique of making assistive devices from locally available discarded waste paper material such as newspapers and cardboard. Following the training of TAF’s Occupational Therapy and other team members, we began production of special seats, standing aids and other assistive devices through APT. Through the generous support of the Safaricom Foundation, we kicked off construction of a workshop that will house the production of assistive devices as well as play items and learning aids made from locally available materials. The workshop will be ready to kick start by November 2020. We project that 300 children will benefit from the program by the end of 2021. • Intending to promote positive parenting and caregiving environments and safeguarding children with disabilities, we launched a 3-year project on Caregiving and Safeguarding Children with Disabilities in Informal Settlements. With funding from Comic Relief, we are implementing the project in Kawangware and Kibera Urban Informal Settlements in partnership with the Centre for Enterprise Development and Innovation. • We partnered with Mary Magdalena Vocational Centre in Thika and Tiny Totos to build the capacity of their staff and parents to support children and learners with disabilities. Their staff and caregivers were trained on Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID), child protection as well as identification of 5 disabilities. SOMESHA: Inclusive Education • With the support of the Open Society Initiative of Eastern Africa, we are working with 12 schools across Kibera, Kawangware and Mukuru informal settlements to support early year’s inclusive education through our Early Childhood Education for All (ECE for All) Project. • We provided training and capacity building for 71 teachers on Inclusive education and successfully distributed teaching and learning, materials to all our partner schools. • We introduced an afterschool reading club at our Hub for learners with and without disabilities to facilitate the classes for early and school-age learning as well as promote inclusion. In addition to the books provided, the club provides an opportunity for digital learning through a learning tool kit donated by Concordia University, through Agha Khan Academies. • We launched our Somesha Online Mobile Application in September 2019,with a goal of promoting inclusive early years education. The application connects young students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders with various accessible learning resources and expert advice. • Our inclusive education efforts were awarded and recognized globally. We received the Zero Project 2020 Award in the Early Childhood Education Category and our Executive Director was awarded the US State Department Professional Fellows Program Alumni Impact Award. • Our 2019 Kenya Children’s Arts Festival saw different performances from all our partner schools across Kibera and Kawangware where 300 children participated to promote inclusion through arts and culture. The theme of the event was Unlimited Abilities. Board Chair, Poonum Wilkhu, receives the Zero Project 2020 Award in the Early Childhood Education on behalf of TAF 6 IBUKA: Women and Girl Empowerment • Through our mentor-mentee model, we trained 100 adolescent girls with disabilities in Gender Based Violence Prevention, Menstrual Health and Hygiene, Self-care and Life skills. 20 young women with disabilities, our lead mentors, were taken through workshops on advocacy, mentorship and leadership and mentorship to support their mentees over the period. • 50 girls with disabilities from various secondary schools participated in our inaugural STEM and life skills