The National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) has entered into a partnership agreement with Hope Mobility Kenya (HMK) geared towards the provision of mobility devices to persons with disabilities in Kenya.

Speaking during the signing of the agreement, NCPWD Executive Director Mr. Harun Hassan noted that the partnership would go a long way in addressing the needs of a large number of persons with disabilities who lacked the necessary assistive devices in the country.

“The devices that have been donated as a result of the agreement between the two parties will go a long way in supporting our programmes and services to persons with disabilities. We are grateful for the generous support we have received and it is very much in line with our strategy of engaging and collaborating with stakeholders and well-wishers to support the cause for disability inclusion,” he said.

The two organisations will collaborate in the identification and provision of mobility aids using the World Health Organisation’s eight steps of wheel chair provision i.e.  referral and appointment, assessment, prescription, funding and ordering, product (wheelchair) preparation, fitting, user training, maintenance and follow up.

HMK Director Mr. Jack Muthui said the non-profit organisation focused on the provision of a wide range of mobility aids including wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and others to realize the rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to meet the sustainable development goals.

“Wheelchairs provide mobility, postural support, freedom and above all else, dignity to those who cannot walk or have difficulty walking, enabling them to move around, participate in everyday activities and live life on their own terms. They are a vital asset that enables PWDs to have access to places and activities that would otherwise be inaccessible,” said Muthui.

The council that recently concluded a massive nationwide registration exercise for PWDs said they would go back to their database with a specialist assessment team of professionals across health, education and social services, who would then visit the shortlisted persons to assess their individual needs before donating the wheel chairs.

The process may also involve a rehabilitation engineer who will make any adjustments or add features and fixtures such as special postural seating.

Over the years, the Council has collaborated with stakeholders to bridge the gap of providing services to persons with disabilities due to challenges of insufficient financial resources, a challenge that is experienced by a majority of them.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has started sensitizing county governments on axle load limits.

Speaking to drivers at Juja weighbridge station situated along the Namanga corridor, Engineer Kennedy Ndugire said that the law requires vehicles of over 3, 500Kgs and above to go through the weighbridge for weighing.

Eng. Ndugire noted that there are no vehicles that are excepted from axle load laws adding that all vehicles whether government or privately owned are supposed to go for axle load limit checks.

“You need to comply with the law, you need to use the dedicated lane for use by drivers, and the measures which authority has put in place to ensure that there is seamless and very fast weighing of this vehicles and screening at the weighbridges,” he said.

Adding; “Currently, there are no elements of traffic snarl-ups which used to be there initially. This is through the technology that has been brought by the authority of screening vehicles at high speed through the introduction of the High-Speed Weighing in motion system.”

According to Eng. Ndugire, they also demonstrated the method to the drivers which they appreciated so much.

Wilson Mburu Kangethe, Acting Chief Executive Member of Roads in Kiambu County, said that there was a need for the drivers to be sensitized about the axle load limits.

“We came with our drivers who were charged so that they can be taught why they should weigh the vehicles. The axle loads limits are not for KeNHA people neither for the county people but for the ‘Wanjiku’ and the public,” he said.

According to Edwin Njoroge, Acting Chief Officer of Roads in Kiambu County, the drivers who participated in the programme learned various aspects of how they need to observe the loading capacity, weights and penalties attributed to non-observance of the set requirements.

“The drivers have committed to make sure that they will pass through the designated weighing bridges to ensure their vehicles are weighed,” he said.