A VERY busy visitor joined Monmouth charity, Hands Around the World (HATW) this month, all the way from Kenya.

Oliver Kirimi, manager of a HATW partner centre in the Meru North area of Kenya, has enjoyed a whistle-stop tour of South Wales and the UK, visiting centres and sharing ideas about improving the lives of those living with disabilities.

Mr Kirimi is manager of the Meru North Disability Community Centre (DCC), which has been partnered with HATW since 2014, but this was his first visit to the UK. His visit comes as part of an association with Hub Cymru Africa, supported by the Welsh Government, which hands out small grants to support groups that work on projects between the two nations.

During his fortnight in the country, Mr Kirimi visited centres and sites in Cardiff, Newport, Hereford, Bath, Brecon, Oxford, and London, as well as Overmonnow School and Trellech Teas. He also joined the trustees of HATW for a meeting to see behind the scenes of the charity which has worked so hard alongside his own centre.

Mr Kirimi said: “I’ve met good people doing amazing things.

“It has been really interesting to see what is done here to make life easier for disabled people, from showing visually impaired people where to cross the road, to lowering cash machines. The government here is really involved.”

He went on to explain about his ongoing work in Kenya, as he and his team work to overcome not only geographical and bureaucratic difficulties in helping those with disabilities, but also the social stigmas which still exist in some communities.

Founder of HATW, Dr David Steiner, explained: “In some areas, you have to go looking for the children with disabilities, as they are often hidden from the community and kept out of school”.

Mnay children also often live so far away from the school site, that those who were allowed to attend school were being carried back and forth by family members, meaning that children often had little choice but to sleep in the classroom on pieces of cardboard, or face missing school entirely.

But now, thanks to HATW’s partnership with Meru North DCC, two dormitories able to house 80 children have been built at the school, as well as a kitchen, dining hall, toilets, classrooms and a therapy room. Families are also being supported by the centre.

“If it wasn’t for HATW, this special school wouldn’t exist,” said Mr Kirimi. He returns home today (20th September).