Making the Graduation Approach Work for Poor Women with Disabilities in Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, women with disabilities are faced with extreme poverty that has been compounded by the combined effects of gender inequality, stigma that often accompanies disability, and social extinction. Such women tend to experience multiplied obstacles that extend beyond those of non-disabled women living in poverty: hostile community attitudes and service provision, mobility constraints, restricting access to markets and training centers, laws and culture, and inability to own assets, and the mainstream financial and livelihood programs seldom consider their particular needs. Consequently, common interventions often do not cover this population, even in cases where the goal is to include the ultra-poor. The Graduation Approach, one of the most evidence-based pathways out of ultra-poverty, was first created by BRAC but is currently being used in many formulations, such as the PROFIT program, throughout Kenya. This period-based, intensive intervention is a mixture of short-term, consumption support to stabilize the households, transfers of productive assets with skills training, exposure to financial services through a series of savings groups, planned social activities of empowerment, and regular individualized coaching over a long period of time. It has been found to bring sustainable changes to the income, food security and resilience of many ultra-poor households. However, traditional patterns of the Graduation Approach tend to be ineffective with women with disabilities due to the fact that they fail to capture the intersectional character of their marginalization. This article thus presents a model that is specific to the poor women with disabilities in rural and informal urban areas in Kenya, the Disability-Inclusive Graduation (DIG) model. Based on the social model of disability (which focuses on eliminating environmental and attitudinal obstacles, as opposed to the fixation of individuals) and using a twin-track approach, the DIG model incorporates disability-specific supports in general economic interventions and offers targeted accommodations where necessary. The DIG model requires three foundational shifts to be successful. The programs should recognize that significant changes in the lives of women with disabilities will normally require extended durations of implementation- 18 to 3 six months- and more per-participant funding to break down deeply rooted structural barriers. Second, homes are not the passive recipients of interventions but caregivers and family members must actively engage in interventions to create conducive home environment that supports economic benefits. Third, inclusion should be taken beyond just passively participating to active, reasonable accommodation encompassed in all program aspects, including initial outreach to the follow-up of graduates. The Disability-Inclusive Graduation framework addresses both the economic and the social aspects of disability in a coordinated manner; and this offers a realistic roadmap of changing the livelihoods and enhancing meaningful social inclusion. It correlates with the Kenya requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals of not leaving anyone behind and national disability policies and provides practical recommendations to government social protection systems, NGOs, and development partners that want to create more equitable and sustainable poverty-reduction initiatives to draw this very marginalized population.