Helping to Break the Stigma of Disability in East Africa

A boy now living in the En-Gedi Children’s Home on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, bears severe scars on his arms from being chained to a bed at his parents’ home to keep him out of sight. The boy has disabilities.

Many people in Kenya — such as that boy’s parents — believe that people have disabilities because the person or one of their ancestors is cursed.

As a result, many parents don’t want their children with disabilities to be seen by others, said Mark Stephenson, who visited the home for children, where this boy is now living, along with his wife, Bev, on their way to participate in the 2017 Theological Education in Africa (TEA) Conference in Tanzania.

“It is very sad to know that this kind of thing is happening to some persons with disabilities,” said Stephenson, director of the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Disability Concerns.

They also heard of a child with disabilities who was left outside a village to be eaten by animals, and of another who lived tied to a board under a bed.

“I’m not making judgments. There is so much pressure on parents and so much desperation that they feel,” said Stephenson.

Stephenson had addressed the topic of stigma at a TEA conference in Africa a few years ago and has since learned much more about it.

He and Bev expanded on the subject during three sessions at this year’s gathering, which took place in August in Arusha, Tanzania.

But before arriving at the conference, he and Bev visited the home in Kenya at the invitation of Margaret Njuguna, who worked for many years with World Renew before deciding to open the En-Gedi Children’s Home about three years ago.

While World Renew has several community development programs aimed at helping people with disabilities, their families, and their communities, Njuguna wanted to do even more.

Mark Stephenson had a chance to talk with Njuguna last year when she was honored by Calvin College with a Distinguished Alumni Award. At that time, she invited him and his wife to visit the home. She also talked to them about her decision to open the home.

“Margaret ultimately decided to leave World Renew and to open the home after seeing a man combat-crawling across a busy road. He had a physical disability,” said Stephenson. “Cars kept whipping by him, and God used that moment to call her to found a ministry focused on people with disabilities.”

Njuguna said that the En-Gedi Children’s Home is not an orphanage. Rather, it is a home to care for children with disabilities with the goal of being able to work with their parents so they can better understand that they aren’t cursed by having such a child, nor that their child is cursed, and that they can learn how to care for their child in their own home.

“En-Gedi’s current facility is at capacity with 12 kids,” said Stephenson. “Margaret is in the process, though, of constructing a new facility to accommodate up to 30 kids, as well as interns to spend time with them and help them.

“Plus, the new facility will have space for physical therapy, occupational therapy, day care, and an area for training parents in how to care for their kids who have disabilities,” said Stephenson.

In an article in Spark, the Calvin College alumni magazine, Njuguna said last year that it is her challenge in Kenya to diminish the idea some parents have that their disabled child is bewitched. They believe that they can’t let their child out in public for fear that a pregnant woman, by looking at the child, may have her own child born with a disability.

“It is a dark world,” said Njuguna. “When I got started, I told God that I want to be a channel through which he can shine his light into the darkness of the world.”

While there at En-Gedi, say the Stephensons, they saw some of this light.

Bev Stephenson said that  “it was so wonderful to meet the children at En-Gedi that Margaret had told us about. It was pure joy for me to be able to hold Angel, who dances with joy even though she was born without arms and legs.”

As a special education teacher, Bev said, it was exciting to meet the boys who have learned to walk and those that are beginning to speak.

“Margaret talks about ‘love therapy’ and the miracles that she and her staff see when these children are given love and the nutrition that they need. These children know they are loved,” said Bev Stephenson.

The visit reminded them that it wasn’t so long ago in North America that parents sent their children with disabilities away to institutions.

“I’d love to see people support what Margaret is doing,” Mark said.

Sponsored by Resonate Global Mission in conjunction with various partners, this year’s TEA conference drew more than 550 participants from 17 countries.

The focus for this year’s gathering was “Church, Worship, Community Development, and Theological Education in Africa.” It included workshop leaders from across the globe on topics such as city transformation movements, prayer life, and revival.

At the TEA conference, Mark and Bev Stephenson used several Bible passages, including 1 Corinthians 12:12, as the theme for their workshop: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”

“God brings us all into the body of Christ — everybody belongs, and everybody serves,” said Stephenson. “We need to realize that our strengths can help other people in their areas of challenge and, similarly, that people who have disabilities have strengths that can help those of us who may not have disabilities.”

Stephenson said he knows of a person with Down syndrome who is a powerful prayer warrior, and he knows of another person who had a stroke, making it hard to talk, who has also developed a prayer ministry. “All of us are valuable and have contributions to make,” he said.

In the seminar at the TEA conference, Mark and Bev spoke about these things, as well as about the stigma that disabilities carry.

They also learned and spoke of things others are doing. For instance, a minister in Kenya who participated in the workshop shared his experience of developing a successful ministry for people who are deaf.

Then there was one participant who is a television producer and who committed to interviewing and perhaps offering stories about people with disabilities.

A university student pledged to connect more frequently with a fellow student with a disability and to find ways to build a friendship.

“I was humbled by the strong commitments that our workshop participants made to make a difference in their local churches and communities. These pastors, ministry leaders, special education teachers, and university students have tremendous vision for what God can accomplish through people of faith in East Africa,” said Bev Stephenson.

As for the Stephensons, they say they are grateful they have had a chance to play a part in Africa in bringing deeper understanding about God’s love for all people and that he has a place for everyone.

“In a small way, we’ve tried to move the dial just a little bit to opening people to welcoming persons with disabilities into their communities and their churches,” said Mark Stephenson.