Special Needs Education Programme for Children with Disabilities – Bogo Bogo slum, Mombasa

In Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city, slums have existed since the city’s earliest development. Today, approximately 50 such neighbourhoods lacking urban utilities and adequate public services can be found across the city, where an estimated 65% of the inhabitants is compelled to reside.

Bogo Bogo is a relatively young informal settlement located in the Jomvu district of Mombasa. The district has a total population of approximately 23,000 people, the majority of whom live in slums. Living standards in Bogo Bogo are extremely low, and residents face numerous daily challenges. The lack of access to safe and clean drinking water, inadequate hygiene conditions, unemployment and the resulting extreme poverty have had a severe impact on the health status of the local population.

The proportion of children with disabilities within the settlement is exceptionally high, amounting to approximately 200 minors who have virtually no access to healthcare services or appropriate support. Mothers – most of them single parents – who provide round-the-clock care for their children find themselves in a particularly vulnerable and often hopeless situation, as their caregiving responsibilities prevent them from undertaking employment that could otherwise enable them to finance medical treatment and therapy.