JENIPHER AKINYI

Ms. Akinyi is a self-advocate and a BRIDGE-CRPD-SDG alumni and facilitator. She has done exemplary work in promoting the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in Kenya and the Africa region. She has been very instrumental in conducting trainings and workshops for the Kenya Association of the Intellectually Handicapped (KAIH) and Inclusion Africa’s members and communities where she has trained them on human rights and deepening their understanding in intellectual disability. As a BRIDGE trainer, she is the first person with an intellectual disability in the Africa region to be a trainer on the same having conducted 3 Bridge cycles in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. She has been invited and participated in several forums and conferences including the United Nations speaking up on self-advocacy and how to include persons with intellectual disabilities in all aspects of life. Ms. Akinyi is the current Secretary for Jiwakilishe, a self-advocacy group based in Nairobi. She also works in KAIH as a field officer and has previously served as board member at the Disability Rights Fund.
Jenipher’s personal mantra is to encourage the society to view the world from the lenses of a person with an intellectual disability.