When global expertise meets local leadership, real change happens. In Jomvu, Mombasa, an innovative partnership between Hungarian disability specialists and Kenyan Community Health Promoters (CHPs) is transforming how communities support children with disabilities.
This is not about outsiders dictating solutions. It’s about collaboration—where international best practice empowers, and local knowledge leads. Together, they are proving that when expertise and agency blend, children, families, and entire communities thrive.
In this article, we’ll explore how this partnership works, why it matters, and what lessons it holds for building sustainable, culturally aware programs.
Also Read:How Community-Led Disability Programmes Are Transforming Lives In Mombasa
A Detailed Explanation: What Does “Blending Expertise and Agency” Mean?
At its core, this approach recognizes two truths:
- Global expertise offers evidence-based methods—structured therapy pathways, monitoring tools, and technical skills refined over decades.
- Local leadership provides context, culture, and ownership—an understanding of community needs, trust-building, and long-term presence.
By weaving these together, programs avoid the pitfalls of “parachute aid” while ensuring that local communities don’t lack technical support. Instead of dependency, the result is empowerment plus sustainability.
Why Jomvu? The Urgency of Inclusive Solutions
Jomvu is an informal settlement in Mombasa County where many children with disabilities face poverty, stigma, and lack of access to healthcare.
- Few families can afford specialized therapy.
- Stigma often leads to children being hidden at home.
- Parents feel isolated and powerless.
Yet, through the partnership of Hungarian specialists and Kenyan CHPs, this narrative is shifting. Families are not only receiving technical support but are also becoming active participants in their children’s progress.
How the Partnership Works: Step by Step
1. Knowledge Transfer, Not Imposition
Hungarian specialists bring structured methods such as therapy pathways and milestone tracking. But rather than imposing, they train CHPs through practical workshops, role-playing, and real case follow-ups.
One CHP explained:
“They showed us the methods, but they never told us we were doing things wrong. Instead, they helped us adapt them to our community.”
2. Adapting Global Best Practice to Local Culture
For example, therapy folders initially designed for European families were simplified with illustrations and translated into Kiswahili. Home activities were adjusted to fit the realities of informal settlements, using locally available materials like water bottles for weights and mats for posture training.
3. Building Local Agency Through CHPs
Community Health Promoters are trusted local figures. They:
- Visit families weekly, checking progress and challenges
- Translate technical exercises into culturally relevant language
- Provide emotional support to parents
- Collect feedback to improve program design
Instead of being assistants, CHPs are leaders and co-creators of the program.
4. Shared Monitoring and Evaluation
Both Hungarian specialists and CHPs use milestone charts and regular feedback loops. This ensures data is collected consistently while respecting local context.
The outcome: measurable progress that satisfies funders’ need for impact data while remaining community-driven.
Real Stories of Change
Fatuma’s Family: Learning Together
Fatuma, a mother of three, had a daughter with developmental delays. Initially, she felt hopeless. A Hungarian therapist assessed the child and designed a pathway, but it was the CHP who walked with Fatuma daily—teaching her how to do the exercises at home.
Today, her daughter can walk independently, and Fatuma has become a vocal advocate for disability inclusion in her neighborhood.
CHP Leadership: James’ Experience
James, a CHP in Jomvu, said:
“Before this training, I only knew how to advise on general health. Now I can guide parents through therapy steps. I feel proud to lead.”
This transformation from health promoter to therapy leader demonstrates the power of capacity-building.
Why This Model Works
- Cultural Relevance – Methods are adapted to local realities.
- Trust and Access – CHPs already have deep community relationships.
- Sustainability – Skills remain in the community even after international specialists leave.
- Accountability – Global evidence-based tools provide measurable impact.
- Empowerment – Families no longer feel like recipients of charity; they are agents of change.
The Bigger Picture: Lessons for Global Development
Too often, international aid programs fail because they overlook local voices. This partnership flips the script. It shows that:
- Global expertise should be a catalyst, not a substitute.
- Local leadership ensures sustainability.
- Communities must own their solutions to make them last.
For funders, policymakers, and NGOs, this is a blueprint for culturally aware, scalable impact.
How Maji na Ufanisi Is Driving This Approach
Maji na Ufanisi plays a bridge-building role, ensuring collaboration works smoothly:
- Coordinating between Hungarian experts and CHPs
- Facilitating translation and cultural adaptation of materials
- Monitoring outcomes to report back to donors
- Advocating for disability inclusion at policy level
By anchoring programs in local leadership, Maji na Ufanisi ensures that change is owned by the community, not imported from outside.
How You Can Support
This model is working—but it needs scaling. More CHPs need training, more families need therapy kits, and more communities need inclusive support.
You can help by:
- Donating – Support the training of CHPs and provision of therapy kits.
- Partnering – Join as a corporate or institutional ally to expand the model.
- Sharing – Amplify these stories to change perceptions about disability inclusion.
Agency is the True Measure of Success
In Jomvu, success is not measured by the number of foreign experts deployed, but by the agency of local leaders empowered to carry the work forward. By blending Hungarian expertise with Kenyan leadership, children with disabilities are walking, speaking, learning—and communities are seeing inclusion as a shared responsibility.
This is more than a program. It’s a movement from expertise to agency.
👉 Support Maji na Ufanisi and help expand this model of inclusive, community-driven change.
FAQs
1. What makes this partnership unique?
It blends global expertise with local leadership instead of replacing it.
2. Who are Community Health Promoters?
Trusted local volunteers trained to deliver health and therapy support.
3. What role do Hungarian specialists play?
They provide evidence-based tools and training, ensuring quality standards.
4. How do families benefit?
They receive consistent therapy, emotional support, and reduced stigma.
5. Is this approach sustainable?
Yes—skills remain in the community long after external specialists leave.
6. Can this model work outside Jomvu?
Absolutely—it’s adaptable for other informal settlements and rural areas.
7. What challenges exist?
Resource gaps, stigma, and the need for more trained CHPs.
8. How is progress measured?
Using milestone charts, feedback loops, and community reports.
9. How can donors trust the data?
Monitoring combines global evidence standards with local reporting.
10. What’s next for this program?
Expanding to more neighborhoods in Mombasa and beyond.
