The Military Wives Association of Kenya (MWAK) Executive Committee members (EXCOM), led by the Chairperson Mrs. Grace Kahariri held a consultative meeting with Dr. Norman Kiogora, the Director Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) and his team at KISE.
The meeting was a follow up to deliberate and plan on the establishment of a pilot Centre of Excellence for Special Needs Education aimed at improving the quality of education and overall, wellbeing of children with special needs within the military community, marking a very important stage in advancing disability inclusion.
This engagement built on earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing at MWAK Headquarters and a courtesy call to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), setting the stage for the establishment of a Pilot Centre of Excellence for Special Needs Education — a critical step towards ensuring children with disabilities in military families and the neighboring community access quality education and holistic support.
Opening the floor for deliberations, Mrs. Grace Kahariri acknowledged the potential impact of the Center of Excellence in improving access to quality and therapy services for children with special needs. On improved service delivery, she noted that the center will significantly enhance the services provided to children with disabilities within Military community.
Director KISE applauded the idea of establishing the Center for Excellence emphasizing that the initiative will greatly enhance inclusivity. He reiterated KISE’s readiness to Collaborate with MWAK in enhancing access to specialized services for children able differently.
Colonel Joshua N. Wanderi, in charge of Infrastructure at the Defence Headquarters further explained that the concept had been developed previously where a center of excellence will be from Pre – school to senior for easy transition.
The parties came into agreement that the pilot project be constructed at the Roysambu, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Camp.
The Deputy Director Programmes KISE Mr. Daniel Sanoe explained that like KISE, the institution will apply a stage-based curriculum tailored to learners with disabilities. a system that focuses on pre-vocational and vocational training unlike the Competency Based Education (CBE) used by regular learners.
The discussions fine-tuned collaborative arrangements on special needs education, rehabilitation, awareness programs, and policy support for inclusive practices.
Both MWAK and KISE agreed to strengthen collaboration through joint planning, resource mobilization and capacity building.
Dr. Kiogora proposed that the team present at the meeting form part of a joint committee to oversee the planning and implementation of the deliberations.
Col Joshua N. Wanderi committed to setting dates for a follow up meeting with the engineers to address infrastructure and technical issues.
KISE and MWAK committed to driving this initiative is a big win for KDF families and the wider neighboring community.
The meeting concluded with mutual appreciation for the strong partnership between KISE and MWAK. Both committed to continuously work closely towards the successful implementation of the project.
