John Maina Gachanja  – DIA (Champion of Upendo PWDs SHG)

He was born in nyahururu and later migrated in kinamba in the year 1982.He came to know about st martin after his daughter got sick and they visited different hospitals for consultation, but the child was not changing even after many interventions. A friend of the caregiver referred him to st martin to be supported with the intervention of the services that were offered. The child started attending therapy in 2013 for she had delayed milestones and due to the reception, that they received from the office he developed interest of being a volunteer. He started approaching caregivers with children with disabilities and referring them to kinamba outstation to be supported with therapy and other services the year 2015 he was recruited to be a volunteer in the Programme of community Programme for persons with disability and later he was recruited as a disability inclusion agent in L’Arche Kenya. He narrated that during the day-to-day work that they do it has its challenges where by some of the caregivers are not receptive to the ideas of how to support the people with disabilities and other families hiding their children. In mobilization most caregivers do not want to be engaged in the process due to how people take advantage of them. Since he started volunteering, he has been able to win caregivers love and support to their children through the experienced he lives with his daughter who has disability. In the year 2024 he was selected as champion to represents the one of the livelihoods groups as a chairperson in kinamba in role of supervision, doing home visits and support the group in creating opportunities for the group to get more funds for economic empowerment of the group projects and individual projects. He has started writing proposals for funding of the group and approach the agriculture officer in the county for group support. He is grateful to the opportunity of being involved in the livelihood projects. Through the funds given for the project he was able to do poultry project and hopes the project to succeed and that he can reach many beneficiaries and give them support.