For 24-year-old Christine Kavale, disability has not been an obstacle towards achieving her goal to become a human resources manager.
However, the journey has not been smooth for the student pursuing a Diploma course student at the Thika Technical Training Institute (TTI), given that she uses her mouth, not hands, to write and moves around in a wheelchair.
The determined young woman who is the last-born among nine siblings adopted digital technology to make her studies easier through online learning.
Incredibly, she uses her mouth to operate her laptop and phone in order to access online lessons despite her physical condition.
She says her parents realized that she had a problem while still an infant as she could not sit and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition she continues to live with to date.
Christine is pursuing a course in Human Resources Management at the tertiary institution’s Virtual and Extension Learning Department and hopes to become a human resources manager.
Using her electronic wheelchair which was donated by a good samaritan, Christine goes to the college once or twice a term to physically present her exam papers.
This writer happened to come across her as she went to hand over her exam papers to the departmental head, Dr Rose Kiiru at TTI.
Before enrolling for the Diploma course at TTI in 2019, Christine had sat for her KCSE exam the previous year at Joy Town Special School in Thika where she scored grade ‘C-‘ (minus), which she says was below what she had hoped to attain.
“I hoped to attain grade ‘A’ and pursue a law degree because I always wanted to become a lawyer, but the learning conditions at secondary school were not favourable because I couldn’t write using my hands like other students,” Christine said.
Speaking earlier during a visit to Joy Town School, Dr Kiiru described Christine as an exemplary student who was always obedient and ready to learn.
Born in 1998 in Mutonguni, Kitui county, Christine has overcome various challenges including lack of school fees but has never given up hope to continue learning.
She says she did not give up after failing to secure a place in University as was her dream and went on to approach a former MP from her rural home who paid for her college admission fees at TTI.
The ever jovial Christine who is the only physically challenged member of her family has a message to persons living with disability; “Never lose hope, accept your situation and face the challenges of life.”
She asserts; “To be physically challenged is not anyone’s choice. Take life positively and do the things you can, because sometimes what we can do normal people cannot,” Christine added.
Christine is grateful to both her parents and siblings for not neglecting her due to her condition like is often the case in many families where a child is born with a disability.
“From infancy, my brothers and sisters used to carry me to church and back. My parents were also very supportive and protective; sometimes my mother got concerned about me using my mouth to pick things fearing I may get infections,” she quipped.
She also hopes one day to have a family of her own and dreams to become a “role model mother”, her physical condition notwithstanding.
However, Christine is appealing for support from well-wishers to overcome some challenges she is currently facing, including paying rent for the house she lives in Thika.
Her wheelchair’s battery has also worn out and needs replacement. She is also in need of a reading table, chair and a bed.
