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There are an estimated 2 million children in low income countries with severe or moderate physical disability. Many of these children have preventable or treatable conditions but due to a lack of facilities and trained staff and various barriers in society, they are unable to access the services they require.
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Programmes

: © CBM
Wheelchairs ready for donation lined up at CBM's Partner APDK in Nairobi

CBM’s mission in Kenya is to work with all parts of society to address avoidable disability, and to create an enabling environment in which all persons with disabilities have access to professional medical services, to quality education, to livelihood opportunities, are socially included and are empowered to drive change.

©CBM: Orthopaedic appliances on display at CBM's partner AIC Cure's orthopaedic workshop

To implement this mission, CBM works with persons with disabilities, their families, local and national partner organisations, alliance partners including UN agencies and global non-governmental organizations. The emphasis of CBM’s work is on local capacity development to increase service delivery in the fields of healthcare, education, rehabilitation and livelihood development.

At the same time, CBM also focuses on developing the organisational capacity of implementing partners. Working together with these partners, CBM uses a twin-track approach.

Empowerment: disability specific initiatives enhancing the empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Mainstreaming: initiatives which seek to ensure that general development activities are inclusive, that persons with disabilities have equal access to, and participation in development programmes.

Together with 21 partner organizations, CBM is active in 23 projects and reached almost 400,000 people in Kenya in 2010.

In order to implement programmes that ensure the inclusion, participation and benefit of people with disabilities in their communities, CBM has developed solid, long term partnerships with a wide network of partners.

Why partnership?

Partnership offers foundations for long-term, sustainable and quality service provision as well as local ownership of the programmes.

CBM is not an implementing organization and therefore develops collaborations with local organisations that are best placed to build long term community based services that are rooted in local ownership.

For the work in Kenya four main types of partnerships exist:

1. Implementing Partners

The organisation works with 23 implementing partners in Kenya , enabling the provision of high quality, affordable and accessible medical, rehabilitative and educational services for people with disabilities throughout the country.
Implementing partners in Kenya are:

PCEA Kikuyu Eye Unit; Kikuyu
Association of the Physically Disabled of Kenya; Nairobi
Sabatia Eye Hospital; Vihiga
Tenwek Hospital Eye Unit; Bomet
Lighthouse for Christ Eye Centre; Mombasa
Kwale District Eye Centre; Kwale
AIC Cure Children's Hospital; Kijabe
S.P.A.R.K; Meru
University of Nairobi, Department of Ophthalmology; Nairobi
AIC Prevention of Blindness Programme; Kijabe
AIC Child Care Centre; Kajiado
PCEA Kikuyu Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Centre; Kikuyu
Naro Moru Disabled Children’s Home; Naro Moru
Nyabondo Centre for the Disabled; Sondu
Kerugoya School for the Deaf; Kerugoya
Kambui School for the Deaf; Ruiru
St. Lucy's School for the Blind; Igoji
St. Oda School for the Blind; Maseno
St. Francis School for the Blind; Kapenguria
Maseno School for the Deaf; Maseno
Agricultural Training Centre for the Deaf/Blind (SIKRI); Oyugis
TumuTumu School for the Deaf; Karatina
Kuja Primary School for the Deaf; Rongo

2. Planning and Policy Partners

As a development partner CBM links with disability organisations and Government line ministries for planning purposes.

In areas of our mandate, there is collaboration with the Ministry of Medical Services , Ministry of Public Health , Division of Ophthalmic Services, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development.

3. Alliance Partners

In 2010 CBM has convened the INGO eye care forum, which exists as a platform through which INGOs can deliberate on common issues regarding their activities in the country. The first meeting was attended by SightSavers International, Operation Eyesight Universal, Fred Hollows Foundation and Orbis.

CBM is a consortium member of a three year/three district European Union funded Trachoma control programme. Consortium members include Ministry of Medical Services, AMREF, and SightSavers International.

CBM also partners with Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN) within the World Council of Churches, to support a Biblical view of disability and a 'church for all'.

The organisation continues to interact with disability actors such as Handicap International, Leonard Cheshire, and Sense International on various matters.

A notable example of commercial/development collaboration has developed with Standard Chartered Bank-Kenya around prevention of blindness in the country.