How I Help People with Disabilities Thrive

Nain Yuh's organization leverages evidence-based research to create financial opportunities for families of children with disabilities in Cameroon.

“I didn't know caring for my great-grandmother was preparing me for a career working with people with disabilities. But as I grew up, I loved the idea of touching lives and creating an impact.” 

Nain Yuh

From an early age, I cared for my great-grandmother, who had a disability that came with age. After I returned from school, my grandmother would leave her in my care while she ran errands. This assignment meant I had to be around to watch my great-grandmother, talk with her, and either accompany her outside the house or encourage her to stay home. She would often pack up a few belongings and leave without knowing where she was headed or when she would return. In her 90s, she sometimes wanted to leave without mentioning where she wanted to go.

I often missed playing with my friends in the field because I had someone dependent on me. If I chose leisure, I'd leave my great-grandmother at risk and didn’t want to be at fault if anything happened to her. My grandmother trusted me to handle her mother while she was gone, and I didn't want to fail her. This experience taught me patience – a must when we relate to people with disabilities, especially when we don’t understand what it’s like to live their life. Soon, I looked forward to spending time with my great-granny instead of missing playtime in the field after school as we shared stories together.

People with disabilities don't want to feel like they are a burden; they feel happy when they are treated as part of the family because they are part of it. My great-granny was ecstatic when we all gathered for dinner. Like many people with disabilities, she wanted to be independent, to make her own decisions and money, and to go about her days without asking for permission or having someone monitor her. 

At the time, I didn't know caring for my great-grandmother was preparing me for a career working with people with disabilities. But as I grew up, I loved the idea of touching lives and creating an impact. While I studied accounting and finance at university, my first job was in a rehab center for people with disabilities. This marked the path: Fast forward to 2018, when I joined Effective Basic Services (eBASE) Africa to develop a program focused on people with disabilities. I was drawn to eBASE because it focuses on evidence-based approaches to improve the livelihoods of underserved populations.

The project I lead helps families of people with disabilities make informed choices and promote their children's rights and needs through the eBASE Family Centered Evidence Toolkit for Disability (EFCETD) toolkit. The process offers incentives to build financial viability for people with disabilities. This means families that engage in the recommendations given during household visits receive a seed fund to launch an income-generating activity. 

Toolkit questions are built around the World Health Organization matrix, including health, education, social well-being, livelihood, and empowerment. The toolkit helps Community Health Workers (CHWs) audit household practices and score families accordingly. For example, caregivers can empower children with disabilities to make decisions like which meal to cook or TV program to watch. 

Families also receive points for initiating meaningful health conversations around topics such as COVID-19, menstruation, or sexual reproductive health with their children. CHWs emphasize why it’s good to discuss these topics so that children with disabilities are informed and aware of what is happening with their bodies. The family is encouraged to assist the child with tasks such as homework and creating a bank account.

During their next visit, CHWs evaluate whether families have progressed in their conversations and give them an updated score. A family can earn up to 136 points, but 60 points are enough to receive the seed fund and launch an income-generating activity – something eBASE helps families choose and develop.

The proceeds of families’ businesses are meant to support the needs of the child with a disability. This follows a model called Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors we developed at eBASE, inspired by the Bible. The model seeks to support the needs of the child with a disability and also gives a chance for the child with a disability to support their family by sharing some of the proceeds to support family needs.

This support also helps tackle the deeply held belief that a child with a disability is a burden and a curse. Instead, we believe they should be treated as equal contributors within their families and communities. In the Bible, Joseph’s father loved him so much more than his other brothers that he bought him a beautiful, multi-colored coat. Because of this, his brothers became jealous of Joseph, leading to him being sold off as an enslaved person. We don’t want jealousy or stigma to affect a child with a disability, hence the development of this model.

We met Bless, a teenage boy (I'll hold back his full details for protection purposes), and his mother in one of the communities around Bamenda. Bless’ mother struggled to send him to school, staying home while his father went out. The mother told us that sometimes neighbors looked at Bless as if he was not a normal child. Still, she was determined to help Bless fully integrate into the community. The EFCETD project empowered her with recommendations to cultivate respect for Bless and help meet his needs. 

The mother actively discussed health topics with Bless, sharing about COVID-19, for example, and ensuring that Bless got his disability card – one of the important documents for a child with a disability in Cameroon. It provides them with a sense of identity and, according to national policy, gives cardholders access to subsidized and free basic services like medical care, free education, reduced transport fare, and rent. Based on the toolkit’s recommendations, the mother also told folk stories with Bless, increasing the bond between Bless and his mother and helping him to learn. The mother also encouraged other kids around the neighborhood to play with Bless.

Before our intervention, Bless and his family struggled to meet his needs financially. Once his mother was awarded a seed fund, she was able to set up a poultry farming business. Bless helps by bringing her water to feed the birds. This business gives her a monthly profit of about 16000 francs (USD 24) per month. She has saved up some money to create a bank account for Bless and was able to buy a Christmas outfit for Bless and a chicken for dinner for the family to celebrate during the holidays. Bless and his siblings were happy to enjoy the meal together, and Bless felt he was able to support his family. Now his mother hopes to buy insurance for the family as her business grows. 

Our research approach creates more inclusive data about children with disabilities while pushing relevant evidence into households. It also ensures household data reach decision-makers in health, education, empowerment, livelihood, and social affairs departments. The data is geospatial, so policymakers see where the child is and their needs and challenges. This real-time citizen science data can enable the inclusion of people with disabilities (and other marginalized groups) in the decision-making process – a game changer for inclusive research and development.

Little did I know that my great-grandmother would be the ultimate teacher of them all: my relationship with her during her last years set me up to walk this path of supporting people with disabilities and their families. Bless and his family are among 30 families our project supported with funds for income-generating activities; however, many families and people with disabilities still don't have access to evidence-based recommendations or income-generating activities to meet their needs. The generous funding from the Stichting Wakka Foundation in Holland was able to support 30 children with disabilities, but we want to meet the demand and increase this number.

Here's how you can help us achieve our goal of improving the livelihoods of people with disabilities: You can support these families with funds for education, insurance, creating and owning a bank account, or establishing a business. We have another phase rolling out this October 2022, aiming to provide 350,000 Francs as a seed fund instead of 100000 francs from the beginning. Still, these funds are only available for a few. Many families like mine and Bless’ are impacted by a disability. Creating more supportive systems and getting more resources to families can ensure that children with disabilities thrive. If you would like to contribute to our work, please email me at nainyuh09@gmail.com.

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