The National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya (NFDK) has set aside Sh175 million to economically empower persons with disabilities ( PWDs) in the country this financial year.
Of the total amount, Sh60 million will be used to support individuals with disabilities, Sh40 million will be used to support small grants, and Sh75 million will be used to support flagship projects such as the construction of dormitories.
According to Mr. Amos Okeyo, a Programmes Officer with the state corporation, the fund will be used to purchase working tools for 3,500 individual persons with disabilities, give small grants of Sh300,000 each to about 130 special educational institutions, and fund flagship projects in 30 special schools to the tune of up to Sh2.5 million each.
Mr. Okeyo was speaking at the Malindi Deputy County Commissioner’s office where he presided over the presentation of donations of various working tools worth Sh800,000 to 25 persons with disabilities drawn from Malindi Sub County.
The officer said the fund receives more than 10,000 applications for small grants annually, but due to limited financial resources, it is only able to give grants to 3,500 persons annually.
Okeyo explained that the organization gets its funds from real estate investments to fund its activities but noted that the money it gets is not adequate to cater to the needs of all persons with disabilities, saying this had led to delays in processing applications.
He said the fund was established in 1980 by then President Daniel Arap Moi, who assisted it to purchase the two Rehema Houses in Nairobi, while the late President Kibaki helped the organization to buy Rehema Place and President Uhuru Kenyatta helped in the acquisition of College House.
“The proceeds from those investments are the ones that enable us to assist persons with disabilities in the country,” he explained and thanked National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) in the country for helping in identifying beneficiaries.
Assistant County Commissioner Judith Mulei thanked the organization for the assistance and called on the society not to stigmatize or discriminate against persons with disabilities.
She called on persons with disabilities who experience harassment on account of their conditions to report to relevant security or administrative officials in their localities for assistance.
This is after some persons with disabilities at the function complained that they were experiencing harassment from non-disabled persons and that even after reporting to authorities, nothing was being done to the perpetrators.
Beneficiaries of the grants thanked the organization for the assistance and called on officials to consider assisting more persons with disabilities to cope with the tough economic times.
SOURCE: Kenya News Agency