Some conversations stay with you — long after the call ends, long after the words have settled.
Not because they were loud or dramatic — but because they were true. Because for a moment, you sat across someone who didn’t just talk about inclusion — they championed for it. Mine with Sara was one of those.
First, let me say this — Sara is phenomenal.
She doesn’t just work in disability inclusion — she believes in it. It’s in her words, her energy, the gentle authority she speaks with — the kind that doesn’t demand attention but earns it.
And I know you are wondering, who is Sara? Well, Sara is the head of Policy and Advocacy at Motivation, a global charity championing the right to access assistive technology, especially wheelchairs, for people with disabilities.
Sara is more than her title. She carries wisdom with gentleness. She speaks not to impress — but to connect. She listens deeply. She challenges your thinking softly, but firmly, with a clarity that stays with you long after the conversation ends.
Let me tell you a fact about Motivation. They have spent over thirty years doing the hard, necessary work of making mobility a right — not a privilege. Their work spans Kenya, India, Malawi, Uganda — places where less than 10% of people who need a wheelchair have one.
But Sara reminded me of something even more powerful:
“You don’t have to earn your wheelchair. You don’t have to be good, loyal or anything extra. You are human first. Disability does not take that away.”
That stayed with me.
Because let’s be honest — in our society, disability often comes with strings attached. Conditions. Expectations.
Be grateful. Be loyal. Be quiet. Be less demanding.
But here was someone reminding me — reminding us — that disability does not take away humanity. We are human first — before anything else.
Shifting the Narrative
Sara spoke about shifting perspectives. About changing the lens through which we view wheelchair users — not as objects of pity, but as people with rights, dreams, and the undeniable right to belong.
And isn’t that the conversation we need to keep having?
That we don’t have to be anything other than who we are to deserve access, mobility, and dignity.
But perhaps what moved me most was hearing about the work Motivation International is doing behind the scenes — work most people never see.
They’re working towards local wheelchair manufacturing.
Let that sink in.
Wheelchairs made in Kenya.
Affordable. Available. Customised. Sustainable.
It’s the dream we’ve all been fighting for — wheelchairs that don’t break our pockets, that don’t need to come from a donor or an NGO halfway across the world. Wheelchairs that are a right — not a reward.
And it filled me with hope.
Hope that one day, wheelchair users in Kenya won’t have to beg or borrow mobility.
Hope that our freedom won’t be dependent on luck or charity — but on systems that see us and plan for us.
We Belong Here
Our conversation wasn’t just about wheelchairs or policies. It was about dignity. It was about creating safe spaces where stories matter.
Sara listened. I listened. She spoke, and her words carried the kind of wisdom that makes you sit back and think deeply.
Days later — I’m still sitting with Sara’s words. Still thinking about inclusion, not as an act of kindness, but as a reflection of justice.
Disability is Human. Mobility is a Right.
We are wheelchair users.
We belong here.
We matter.
And while the road is still long, it gives me peace knowing there are people — organizations like Motivation International — working tirelessly for us. Not out of pity. Not because we asked. But because they know we exist. They know we deserve better. They know mobility is a right — not a privilege.
Final Thought
To every wheelchair user out there — you are human first. You belong. You deserve.
And to every person or organization working behind the scenes to make mobility a right in Kenya — we see you. We appreciate you. Keep going.
Because this fight is worth it. We are worth it.
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