The County government of Nakuru plans to conduct a census for persons with disabilities to establish their number and severity of their disabilities to help in their planning.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the initiative of identifying the data of people with disabilities was part of the County’s policy and will help the government to know how many people are living with various disabilities and their level of needs.
According to Kinyanjui, the census will be conducted across the county in all the 11 sub-counties.
While emphasizing the importance of the census exercise, the Governor assured that his government will follow up the records and help the people with disabilities as per their abilities and skills so as to improve on their lives.
He said his government was keen to allocate adequate resources to cater for the needs of all people with various disabilities across the County.
The governor assured that relevant policies and legislative frameworks will be formulated to ensure that the resources allocated for the disabled are utilized for the benefit of the needy.
Kinyanjui expressed regret that many family members in the County were not in a position to go to work due to the severity of disabilities of persons under their care, making it hard for the family to meet their daily needs.
He however promised that his government was committed to assisting such families to help improve their living standard and attainment of happiness. “The needy people should be given an opportunity to exhaust their full potential and not to be hidden in the house,” advised Kinyanjui.
He said when needy people are exposed to opportunities, they would realize what they could do better and how they could benefit from their talents hence reduce dependence burden.
Kinyanjui called on parents and guardians to allow their children with disabilities to interact with other children and members of families to help boost their self-esteem, positive attitudes and have a feeling that they have a role to play in the society.
The move comes barely a day after the national funds for the disabled of Kenya chairperson Kristina Kenyatta Pratt donated trade tools and cash money totaling to Sh13 million to disabled persons in Rift Valley region.
By Esther Mwangi and Waweru Mwangi
