Since 2014, Humanity & Inclusion’s team in Kenya has provided rehabilitation services to people with disabilities and vulnerable individuals in Kakuma refugee camp. In 2015, with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, we were able to put up a temporary structure so that our teams could offer services to the growing number of new asylum seekers, primarily from South Sudan. The temporary structure—Rubb Hall—was received with a sigh of relief and provided support to more than 40% of Kakuma population.

Over the years, Rubb Hall was subjected to the usual harsh weather conditions in Kakuma leading to frequent wear and tear that rendered the structure unstable and insecure, especially during wind storms and rainy seasons. It would leak during rainy seasons and fill with dust during windy seasons, making it difficult to create a conducive environment for rehabilitation services.

With continued support from the U.S. Department of State, we were able to build a new, permanent structure that stands tall on the spot where Rubb Hall was previously pitched. This has fulfilled a long awaited dream of a more stable, secure place to offer rehabilitation services to the people in Kakuma who need it most. One client says, “Now, we feel like important people.”

We are so appreciative of the U.S. Department of State for its continued support that enables us to provide quality care to people with disabilities in both refugee and host populations.

Violence affects one in three women in their lifetime. Globally, women with disabilities are ten times more likely to experience sexual violence. Over the next three weeks, Humanity & Inclusion will address the violence against women with disabilities at the 71st session of the Committee[1] on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, organized by the United Nations in Geneva from October 22 through November 9.

25 years of work

Humanity & Inclusion implements projects to address violence in six countries around the world[2] by raising women's awareness of their rights and helping them build self-reliance. In Rwanda, HI provides psychological support to victims of physical and sexual violence, including women, and organizes discussion groups. In Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya, our team works to combat sexual violence against children, including children with disabilities, who are three to four times more likely to be at risk of violence.

Making it Work

HI launched the Making it Work Gender and Disability project to promote good practices in order to eliminate violence against women and girls with disabilities. The aim is to ensure that women's voices are heard and that the risks they face (violence, abuse, and exploitation) are taken into account in the projects implemented by other organizations in the fields of humanitarian action, human rights, feminism, and gender-based violence.

Publications

Gender and disability intersectionality in practice: Women and girls with disabilities addressing discrimination and violence in Africa

In June 2018, Humanity & Inclusion's Making it Work project published the report, “Gender and disability intersectionality in practice: Women and girls with disabilities addressing discrimination and violence in Africa,” which presents nine best practices for women’s organizations in six African countries. Women leaders with disabilities presented the report at the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York. 

Protection Against Violence Based on Disability, Gender, Age (2018)

Humanity & Inclusion works to prevent violence based on disability, gender and age and its disabling consequences in development and fragile settings, as well as to provide holistic care for survivors of violence, exploitation and abuse. HI’s goal is to ensure that people with disabilities and other at-risk groups are less exposed to violence and can live in dignity, independently, and with control over their own lives. View the flier here.

[1]This committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

[2] Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The refugee crisis in South Sudan is one of the most alarming humanitarian situations in the world. Millions of South Sudanese are fleeing brutal violence and extensive food insecurity. Some 86% of those who seek safety in neighboring countries are women and children, including at least 75,000 children who have become separated from their families, many of whom are in poor health.

Your tax-deductible gift supports people facing food and water shortages as a result of the ongoing drought in Africa. With your help, we can provide urgently needed emergency rehabilitation care, food kits, and other essential items, bringing relief to families in desperate need and helping to prevent permanent disabilities caused by malnutrition in children.

Please, join us in supporting the innocent victims of this devastating crisis. Donate now and give them new hope for a better future.

*Any funds raised beyond the needs of our emergency response will be used to support other vital programs in the area and around the world.

Twenty million people in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and northeastern Nigeria have been grappling with a serious food crisis since 2016. Several East African countries have been hit by drought in recent months, including Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, South Sudan and, to a lesser extent, Tanzania. In some countries, conflicts have caused severe food shortages. Handicap International is preparing to deal with one of the worst humanitarian crises since the Second World War.

Humanity & Inclusion is committed to supporting people who are fleeing conflict and natural disaster. Whether they are sheltering within their own countries or residing in countries of first asylum as refugees, our teams are hard at work providing basic and specific aid to people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Read about our work with refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) as well as our other projects in the 11 countries below.

This life-saving work is possible thanks to the generous support of our donors, as well as key funding agencies such as the U.S. Department of State, IKEA Foundation, among others.

Humanity & Inclusion is an impartial, international aid organization, and we act where needs are greatest. We do not work on refugee resettlement.  

Handicap International’s Ubuntu Care project combats sexual violence against children, particularly children with disabilities, in Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda. Below, Regional Coordinator Sofia Hedjam describes the program and its achievements. Launched in November 2012, it has already provided care and treatment to 600 child victims of sexual violence.