How did we start?

The early beginning of The HIV Awareness Project of the Deaf, Kenya is best told through the story (click here) of Jackie Odwesso, our program director.

In 2003, Jackie and a team of friends came together and decided to combine their energy to help relieve communication barriers and better the lives of the many deaf people who live in hardship in Kenya. Soon a partnership was formed with 2 non-profit organizations:

• Sahaya International, a USA-based nonprofit organization. The name Sahaya means 'help' in ancient Sanskrit language, and states our common bond and goal.
• Grassroots Alliance for Community Education (GRACE; www.graceusa.org), a nonprofit organization registered in both the USA and Kenya.

In December 2003, this partnership was awarded a grant by the Development Marketplace program (of the World Bank Group with support of UNAIDS). For more information, please visit www.developmentmarketplace.org .

Thanks to this grant, we operated for the first years as the "HIV awareness of the Deaf" under the wings of Sahaya International and GRACE. In 2007, we registered as "Sahaya Deaf Kenya" in 2007.

Who are we?

This is our current team of 2009:

Odwesso Jacquilyn  Project leader

Margaret Odhiambo   - Master Educator, now TOT

Bernard Mulama    - Master Educator, now TOT

Tom Ger - Puppetry Troupe Leader

Reuben Murubi - Master Educator, TOT