Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa

The framework is the result of extensive consultations and validation processes conducted across Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa. OPDs, government representatives, development partners, and disability advocates came together to identify challenges, share experiences, and co-create solutions.

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A Framework for Change: Advancing Disability Inclusion Through Stronger OPDs and Assistive Technology in Kenya On 2nd June, Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa (KBTA) brought together stakeholders from across Kenya's disability inclusion ecosystem to disseminate the Kenya Country -Level Strategy on Strengthening Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) through Assistive Technology (AT).While the strategy...

Its World Assistive Technology Day! Today, we highlight the story of Joseph Zuma.
For the longest time, Joseph had no phone at all. As a totally blind college student, I found that asking for help was part of the routine.
Everyday life carried invisible negotiations: needing someone to read a message aloud, relying on another person to explain directions, and trusting others with private information that was never meant for everyone else to know.

The world moved quickly. Opportunities often arrived through notifications and digital platforms that were not always easy to access independently. Even privacy, something many rarely stop to think about, felt borrowed.
Then, in 2023, something seemingly ordinary entered his life: a smartphone.
Not luxury. Not convenience. Freedom.

Joseph, a trained social worker with a diploma in Social Work and Community Development from Sikri National Polytechnic, received the device through Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa's Mobile as Assistive Technology Project, implemented in partnership with the Global Disability Innovation Hub under the research.
To many, it was just a smartphone. For Joseph, it unlocked something much bigger. It opened the door to greater independence in everyday life.
Reading no longer depended on waiting for someone else. Through assistive apps, information could be spoken aloud, words dictated, and ideas captured in real time.
But perhaps the most powerful transformation was quieter: privacy.
For a person who is totally blind, something as simple as checking personal information in public can feel vulnerable. Joseph learned to discreetly navigate his phone, hide the screen, and move through digital spaces with confidence, independence, and dignity.

One day, while scrolling through social media on the very smartphone he had received, Joseph came across an opportunity: a call for applications for the employability skills training program offered by Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa
He did not ask someone else to complete the application for him. He wrote his own CV, submitted his own application, and secured a place in the program.
A simple act for some. A life-changing moment for another.

When Joseph speaks about smartphones, he speaks about them differently. To him, they are assistive technology: a bridge to opportunity, a tool for dignity, and a pathway to self-reliance.
Because assistive technology is not always dramatic. Sometimes, it looks like the everyday things we hold in our hands, quietly unlocking confidence, privacy, independence, and hope.
This World Assistive Technology Day, we celebrate stories like Joseph's.
Stories that remind us that when access exists, possibility follows. And sometimes, changing a life begins with unlocking the everyday.

Read the Mobile as AT report here: https://lnkd.in/ecuWNX8r

Today, Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa will bring together stakeholders from across Kenya’s disability inclusion ecosystem in Nairobi for the dissemination of the Kenya Country-Level Strategy on Strengthening Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) through Assistive Technology (AT).

This milestone is the culmination of extensive groundwork carried out across Kisumu, Nairobi, and Mombasa, where OPDs and partners co-created insights through consultations, field engagements, and validation processes that shaped the strategy. The Global Disability Innovation Hub played a central role in this process, providing technical leadership, research support, and ensuring the strategy is grounded in both evidence and lived experience.

The strategy presents a practical framework for strengthening OPD capacity, enhancing meaningful participation in governance, improving access to Assistive Technology, and reinforcing systems for sustainable financing, strategic partnerships, and evidence-based decision-making. Key partners, including OPDs, NGOs, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), have collectively contributed to shaping a coordinated and scalable approach to disability inclusion.

By bringing these actors together, the dissemination event marks a transition from co-creation to implementation, with a shared commitment to embedding Assistive Technology and disability inclusion at the centre of Kenya’s development agenda and translating evidence into measurable impact for persons with disabilities nationwide.

Read the report here:https://lnkd.in/dkJ6nfvh

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What if better AI starts with the people it often misses?

Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa has been working with Microsoft Research to advance conversations around inclusive technology and ensure persons with visual impairment are not left behind in the evolving AI and digital landscape.

Equipping communities to influence AI through involvement in AI development pipelines can improve AI and help communities realize the potential AI has to serve them well. https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/ai/why-better-ai-starts-with-the-people-it-often-misses/

Last week marked an important milestone for inclusive economic participation in Tanzania.

Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa (KBTA), in partnership with SHIVYAWATA and with support from the Mastercard Foundation, celebrated the graduation of the first cohorts of the Employability Skills and Entrepreneurship Skills Training Programs for youth with visual impairments.

Over the past three months, the program focused on equipping youth with visual impairment with adapted ICT skills, workplace readiness, and practical entrepreneurial competencies, critical for transitioning into employment and income-generating activities.

The inaugural cohorts included:

1. 20 graduates, of whom 11 are young women, strengthening their capacity to access employment

2. 15 aspiring entrepreneurs, including 11 young women, prepared to start and grow small businesses

We were honoured by the presence of Dr Mwajuma Hamza, Executive Director of the Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC), who committed to:

🔹 2 internship opportunities for young women

🔹 2 exhibition slots at the Sabasaba Trade Fair in Dar es Salaam (June 30 – July 10)

These outcomes highlight the importance of linking skills development to real opportunities, and the learnings from this first cohort will directly strengthen future cohorts through deeper employer engagement and targeted enterprise support.

As we scale this model, continued collaboration is key. We invite employers and partners to offer internships, employment, and market opportunities.

To engage with this talent pool, please reach out to SHIVYAWATA to access graduate profiles.





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Over the past two weeks, our technical team has been working in Kibos Special School (Kisumu) and Isiolo, advancing access to digital literacy through adapted ICT training in Kisumu and advanced Orbit Reader 20 training for teachers in Isiolo, reaching schools across the region.

Our model is simple, intentional, and practical; train a few, trust them to train many, and keep the knowledge moving where it’s needed most. From teacher to teacher. From teacher to learner. From one school to another.

The journey toward inclusive classrooms is far from over, but we are showing up and doing the work, making sure these devices don’t just sit on shelves, but are actually used to open up learning.

With the introduction of the Disability Act 2025, Kenya has taken an important step toward strengthening the rights, inclusion, and protection of persons with disabilities. The Act signals progress, recognising the need for accessibility, equal opportunities, and stronger institutional support.

But policy alone is not enough.

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Strengthening OPDs in Kenya: Co-Creating a More Inclusive Future Through Technology Across Kenya, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) are at the forefront of advancing inclusion, advocating for rights, and shaping policies that impact their communities. Yet, many OPDs continue to face systemic barriers: limited access to assistive technology, gaps in capacity, and con...

Disability inclusion is not a favour to a few. It is about fair work, equal opportunity and recognising the value that persons with disabilities bring to every business.

Global Compact Network Kenya and Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa invite participants and the wider business community to a virtual session that will move policy commitments into concrete workplace action.

Kenya’s new Persons with Disabilities Act 2025 sets out clear expectations for employers on non-discrimination, reasonable accommodation, and inclusive workplace policies, and encourages companies to intentionally increase the representation of persons with disabilities in their workforce.

The webinar will share practical guidance on inclusive recruitment, retention, accessibility, incentives such as tax relief, and how companies can start or deepen their disability inclusion journey.

Friday 17 April 2026
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM EAT

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/AdvancingDisabilityInclusion