Cynthia Bauer shares how local leaders, families, and disabled advocates are building communities rooted in dignity, education, and belonging

There are an estimated 580 million children with disabilities worldwide, and approximately 80 percent of people with disabilities live in developing nations. Too many children are still hidden, neglected, denied access to inclusive education and equitable healthcare, or excluded from community life because of fear, misinformation, and deeply rooted disability stigma.

In this powerful episode of Pushing Forward with Alycia, disability inclusion advocate and host Alycia Anderson welcomes Cynthia Bauer, US CEO and cofounder of Kupenda for the Children, for a conversation about transforming harmful disability beliefs into dignity, opportunity, and lasting inclusion.

Kupenda trains thousands of families, young people, faith leaders, educators, healthcare providers, and government leaders to become disability advocates. These community advocates help children with disabilities gain access to education, medical care, protection, and meaningful inclusion in family and community life.

Cynthia shares how her unexpected journey into advocacy began while she was studying wildlife biology in Kenya. Born without her left hand, Cynthia learned that harmful cultural beliefs about disability could have placed her own life at risk had she been born in a different community. That realization changed the direction of her life and eventually led her and Kenyan special education teacher Leonard Mbonani to create Kupenda.

Together, Alycia and Cynthia explore why societal perceptions and attitudinal barriers often create greater limitations than physical disabilities themselves. They discuss the damage caused by faith healing claims, misinformation, segregated education, inaccessible environments, and charitable approaches that treat disabled people as objects rather than leaders.

Cynthia also explains why Kupenda does not enter communities by condemning local leaders or simply telling people they are wrong. Instead, its community led disability inclusion workshops encourage honest discussion, respectful questioning, lived experience, and practical education. Pastors, traditional healers, parents, disabled advocates, and government leaders are invited to examine the consequences of their beliefs and discover better ways to support disabled children and their families.

At the center of the conversation is a simple but powerful message: people with disabilities are fully human. They deserve the same love, freedom, opportunity, dignity, equality, and full participation in community life as everyone else.

The word Kupenda means “to love” in Swahili. Cynthia describes it not simply as an emotion, but as a constant action of loving. That meaning reflects the organization’s mission to replace fear and exclusion with understanding, advocacy, dignity, and belonging.

Love in Action: What We Explore in This Episode

Words That Keep Pushing Us Forward

The disability unites us more than the cultures divide us.

~ Cynthia Bauer

At the end of the day, what does every person want but to be loved and included?

~ Cynthia Bauer

Rolling Through the Conversation

Connect with Cynthia Bauer and Kupenda

Learn more about Cynthia Bauer and the work Kupenda is doing to transform disability stigma into dignity, opportunity, and inclusion.

About Cynthia Bauer

Cynthia Bauer is the US CEO and cofounder of Kupenda for the Children. Born without her left hand, Cynthia first traveled to Kenya as a wildlife biology student. Her encounters with disabled people who faced extreme stigma and exclusion inspired her to help create an organization focused on disability justice and community transformation.

For more than 25 years, Cynthia has worked alongside local leaders, disabled advocates, families, educators, faith communities, and nonprofit organizations to reduce disability stigma and develop sustainable, locally led solutions. Kupenda’s workshop model is now being replicated by organizations in multiple communities around the world.

Kupenda also offers opportunities to volunteer, host events, arrange documentary screenings, invite speakers, and access disability advocacy resources.

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About Pushing Forward with Alycia

Pushing Forward with Alycia gives disability a voice through conversations about accessibility, inclusion, ambition, resilience, leadership, advocacy, and creating a more inclusive world for all people.

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