They Are Us: Rethinking Disability and Inclusion in Kenya

Today, while walking, I found myself using a pedestrian footbridge to cross the road. 

I walked up the stairs, crossed over, and came down on the other side without giving it much thought. It was just another ordinary part of my journey. 

in the middle of crossing that bridge, I stopped and asked myself a question: what if I were differently abled?

What if I were using a wheelchair? What if I were blind? What if I had limited mobility? What if climbing those long flights of stairs wasn't something my body could simply do? How would I cross that road?

The cars below were moving quickly. The bridge had stairs on both sides, but there was no obvious accessible route for someone using a wheelchair. 

There was no zebra crossing no crosswalk at the ground level that I could see. And something that had been completely normal for me became a very different experience when I imagined navigating it as someone who was differently abled.

That moment made me realise how much of our environment we take for granted.

We build roads, buildings, schools, offices, shopping centres, hospitals, restaurants and public spaces as though everybody moves, sees, hears and interacts with the world in exactly the same way. 

We create something that works perfectly well for the majority of people and then expect everyone else to  adapt to it.

But why should they?

imagine living in a world not build for you....

Why should a person using a wheelchair have to look at a staircase and wonder how they are supposed to get to the other side? Why should someone who is blind have to depend entirely on another person to navigate a space that was supposed to be public? Why should someone with limited mobility have to avoid certain buildings because there is no ramp or lift? Why should accessing a government office, a hospital, a restaurant or even a public toilet become an obstacle course?

Them being differently abled is not the problem. The problem is that we keep designing a world that refuses to recognise their different abilities.

I think that distinction matters.

You should never be excluded for being different.

It should never mean being forgotten when a building is designed. It should never mean being an afterthought when a road is constructed. Or strategically placing accesible places just to look inclusive.

 It should never mean having to call ahead to ask whether a place can accommodate you. It should never mean having to depend on someone's kindness simply to enter a building or cross a road.

Accessibility should not depend on kindness.

It should be built into the environment in everthing around as, they are people too...

Sometimes I think we forget that. They are part of us.

they are us....

They are our brothers and sisters. They are our parents and children. They are our friends and colleagues. They are students sitting in our classrooms, employees working in our offices, customers walking into our businesses and citizens trying to use the same roads and public services that the rest of us use.

maybe the reason we don't think about these things enough is because those of us who can walk up the stairs simply walk up them.

 We don't have to stop and question whether the building has a ramp. We don't have to wonder whether the lift works. We don't have to check whether a toilet is accessible. We don't have to think about whether a footbridge can actually be used by us.

We have the privilege of simply moving.

But imagine having to plan your entire day around whether the places you need to go are accessible.

Imagine getting to a building and discovering there are only stairs.

Imagine arriving at a footbridge and realising you cannot use it.

Imagine watching everyone else cross the road safely while you have to figure out another way.

Imagine being told, directly or indirectly, that the world has no place for the way you move through it.

imagine how easily you get pissed at any inconvinience and then now imagin they have to live their lives with every inconvinience, just because we exclude them.

There is no inclusion in anything we do....

this is where I think  us as Kenya need to have a much bigger conversation.

We talk about development in terms of new roads, beautiful buildings, modern shopping centres, improved infrastructure and growing cities. But i think we should also look at how accessible those places are to everyone.

What good is a beautiful building if someone using a wheelchair cannot enter it?

What good is a modern public facility if someone who is blind cannot navigate it independently?

What good is a pedestrian bridge if it only works for people who can climb hundreds of stairs?

What good is public transport if differently abled people cannot use it safely and independently?

We cannot keep building a country for the majority and then asking everyone else to adjust.

This isn't only the government's responsibility. It is also something we need to think about as ordinary Kenyans.

If we are building a restaurant, did we think about accessibility?

If we are opening an office, can everyone enter?

If we are constructing apartments, can someone with different mobility needs actually live there comfortably?

If we are designing a website or digital service, can someone with a visual or hearing impairment use it?

If we are organising an event, did we consider people who experience the world differently from us?

These questions should become normal.

Because differently abled people should not have to constantly remind the rest of society that they exist.

They should already be part of the conversation.

And there is something else that I keep thinking about: none of us knows what life will look like tomorrow.

We may be able-bodied today and differently abled tomorrow. An accident, illness, ageing or simply circumstances beyond our control can change the way we move through the world.

So accessibility is not about building a country for “them.”

It is about building a country that is prepared for all of us.

Today, I crossed that bridge without thinking twice.

Tomorrow, I could be the person standing at the bottom of those stairs.

And if that day ever comes, I would want the country I live in to have thought about people like me before I needed it to.

Kenya should not merely be a country where differently abled people are allowed to exist. It should be a country where they can participate, move, work, learn, travel, socialise and live with the same dignity and freedom as everyone else.

Because they are not separate from us.

They are us.