the impact of affirmative action on persons living with disabilities (case study of persons living with disabilities in ugunja-sub county,siaya county )

Abstract

Despite the policies, regulations and constitutional provisions protecting persons living with disabilities, they still remain among the marginalized lot in Kenya. The persons with disabilities in Kenya hardly access any specialized support services in urban and rural areas. Instead they depend in third parties for support. However, the helpers are mostly ignorant of their plight and are sometimes unavailable. In the major cities in Kenya such as Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, the disabled do not enjoy the right to access the public spaces as most of the facilities are yet to comply with the legislation. The Kenyan constitution binds all construction works to include ramps for physically challenged persons to easily access the facilities. There have been reported cases where persons living with disabilities have been mistreated by matatu touts, a practice which is widespread in the sector especially in the cities. As such there have been public outcry from persons living with disabilities over harassment by touts and other matatu stakeholders who infringe on their right to access and use of public facilities as stipulated in the law. This state of affairs has forced the majority of the persons with disabilities to be left behind in the social, economic and political participation in the country and it is for this reason that the researcher has developed interest in the role played by the affirmative action in enhancing the lives of persons living with disabilities. The specific objectives will be; to establish how affirmative action have improved the lives of persons living with disabilities, the steps towards the full realization of the rights of persons with disabilities, how disability mainstreaming, awareness and education impact on persons living with disabilities and finally the challenges to effective promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. A descriptive study will be adopted for the study, the study will mainly focus the target population which comprises of; the physically challenged, the mentally challenge, the visually impaired, the hearing impaired among other forms of disabilities in Siaya county. A sample size of 243 calculated using statistical formula will be used to represent the population. Stratified random sampling will be used. The data will be collected using structured questionnaires and interviews and then analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, percentages, weighed averages and results represented using tables and graphs.