User:Zp 2298

Hi everyone! I am an exchange student at Rice University studying Sociology and Anthropology. The field that I wish to contribute to on Wikipedia encompasses wealth and income inequality, disabilities, and specifically, capabilities of children with disabilities in Kenya. In my spare time, I love to read and write french poetry. I am also a member of Child Destiny Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing therapy and childcare to children with special needs in the slums of Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Proposed Topics
The general theme that I want to delve into for this project is Disability in Kenya. There is no section on disabilities under the Wikipedia article on Kenya. In the subsections on health, education, or youth of the section on Kenyan demographics, there is no mention of Kenyans and young people with disabilities. Therefore, I am considering creating a new entry/section on disability in Kenya, under the article on Kenya. The underlying theme attached to this is the intersections between disability and poverty in Kenya.

First choice
As Kenya is a country of the youth[1], I want to shed light on children and young people living with mental and/or physical disabilities (e.g. cerebral palsy) in Kenya. I especially want to look at children with disabilities’ lack of access to education, especially in rural parts of Kenya. I have found many scholarly articles on children with disability in rural parts of Kenya, notably the north- and south-east.

Here are the sources which I found most relevant and clear in touching upon the links between disability and right to education, health, malnutrition, and lack of transportation in rural settings.

Second choice
A second topic which I find particularly interesting to look at is the relation between disability and religion in Kenya. The prevailance of religion in Kenyan families and notably families living in poverty induces religious superstitions, beliefs, and taboos on disabilities. These beliefs are transmitted from the children’s parents and shape their vision on how they see their child's life fit. Consequently, it affects these children's living conditions, notably limiting their access to education.

I want to shed light on how religion also limits directly and indirectly the creation of governmental policies and initiatives aiming at bettering the living conditions of Kenyans with disabilities. This topic would be more appropriately added to the section on Kenyan government and politics.