“Leo hajaji funua sana, nimeamka kumfunika tu mara moja(today he hasn’t uncovered himself so much, I only woke up to cover him once)” says Paul as I enter their room to give the morning support. Paul is referring to Moses Kimani whom he shares a room with. Paul is a core member in Betania home living with epilepsy and to many people He is a receiver of care, but to Moses Kimani, Paul is a giver of care.

From the day Moses joined Betania home one year ago, Paul has made it his personal responsibility to look after Kimani as He refers to him as his smaller brother. Paul has made personal effort to learn from the assistants on how they support Kimani and even asks for a chance to support Kimani even on intimate care in the presence of an assistant just to be sure that he is doing it right. Many are the times he has even sacrificed his sleep just to ensure that Kimani doesn’t catch a cold at night as Kimani from time to time uncovers himself from his blanket so Paul wakes up at night to cover him, his famous phrase “ siwezi taka brathe apate homa kwaajili ya kujifunua usiku( I wouldn’t want my brother to catch a cold from uncovering himself at night)”

Kimani has not been the only beneficiary of Paul’s care but the other core members and assistants too, Paul is very keen to help where his help is needed. He will not just watch as others struggle with executing something He can comfortably do, He is proactive and always steps in to give his support where it is needed e.g using his height to help other members in reaching high placed items, emptying the dustbin, folding Musa’s and Kimani’s cloths, tying Musa’s shoes laces supporting Kimani in feeding, the list is endless, He has also been a very strong advocate against wastage of food. He has in many ways encouraged and inspired the assistants to continue working hard.

Paul has given us a chance to look beyond his disability and what he can’t do by showing us what he can do and how much of a resource he can be to the home. He has taught us that if we focus so much on someone’s weaknesses we stand a high chance of missing out on their strengths and in this way we have learnt to embrace each other’s strengths and focus less on our weaknesses.