Kenya: Handicapped Mobility Appliances Centre (HAMAC); names of founders and executive members since 1994; how it is viewed and treated by authorities; the existence of a women's wing
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 3 September 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | KEN39520.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Kenya: Handicapped Mobility Appliances Centre (HAMAC); names of founders and executive members since 1994; how it is viewed and treated by authorities; the existence of a women's wing, 3 September 2002, KEN39520.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4db823.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In the abstracts database of the Disability World Website, a 1999 entry for the Handicapped Mobility Appliance Center (HAMAC) is listed with Paul Otando as the author (Disability World n.d.). According to the abstract:
[The] Handicapped Mobility Appliance Center (HAMAC) in Kenya was formed to fulfill their basic need of mobility for people with disabilities. The goals of HAMAC are to train and employ the disabled ... to improve mobility with the full participation of people with disabilities (ibid.).
The abstract for HAMAC lists a reference to International Rehabilitation Review – Volume 49, Issues 1 and 2 1999, page 27, however attempts to access this publication by the Research Directorate were unsuccessful (ibid.).
During a 27 August 2002 telephone interview, the secretary general of Rehabilitation International (RI) said that he visited the office of HAMAC in 1996 or 1997 and met two of its "leaders," Paul Otando and a woman by the name of Peninah. He also said that he met Paul Otando again in Sweden during 2000 (ibid.).
The secretary general of RI said that he was not aware of HAMAC's current status but that he recalled HAMAC as a cooperative for disabled people who produced wheelchairs (ibid.) He said that the aim of the organization was to provide wheelchairs to people who need them and that it raised funds from international organizations, governments and Rotary Clubs to support its work (ibid.). He also noted that HAMAC created jobs for both women and men with disabilities and that HAMAC's employees were also disabled (ibid.). In terms of its size, the secretary general said that HAMAC employed probably no more than 20 people and that it was a "democratically run" organization (ibid.).
No additional information on HAMAC could be found among sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, a summary of activities at the All-Africa Wheelchair Builders' Congress of 1997 which was held in Kenya includes a reference to a "Peninah Mutinda of Kenya" in its Networking and Collaboration notes (Whirlwind Wheelchair International 19 Jan. 1999). The item reports that Peninah Mutinda was involved in "the sale of hubs and bearings" to the Association of the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) Nairobi and offered to provide training assistance for APDK by bringing in a mechanic from Mombassa (ibid.). No additional information on Peninah Mutinda is provided in the article.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Disability World. n.d. "Search Results." According to its Website, Disability World is a "bimonthly web-zine of international disability news and views" which is supported by the U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (n.d.).
Rehabilitation International, New York. 27 August 2002. Telephone interview with secretary general.
_____. n.d. "About RI." According to its Website, "Rehabilitation International is a federation of national and international organizations and agencies. It develops and promotes initiatives to protect the rights of people with disabilities, to improve rehabilitation and other crucial services for disabled people and their families, and to increase international collaboration towards these objectives" (n.d.).
Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI). 19 January 1999. Marc Krizack. "All-Africa Wheelchair Builders' Congress – A Huge Success." Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
NEXIS
One oral source could not provide information on the above-mentioned topic.
Internet sites including:
Africa Confidential
Africa Online
AllAfrica.com
BBC Africa
Daily Nation
Disability.DK
Disabled Peoples' International
East African Standard
Kenya Web
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
U.S. Department of State
Women's Human Rights Net
World News Connection (WNC)
Unsuccessful attempts to reach the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the East African Federation of the Disabled, Mennonite Central Committee, the United Disabled Persons of Kenya, Whirlwind Wheelchair International, and the Swedish Organization of Disabled Persons.
Search engines including:
Google
