Lavina Oduor
Kisumu County
For twenty years, she witnessed a battle fought within her childhood home, watching her mother shoulder the weight of her brother’s schizophrenia against a backdrop of community stigma. What began as a daughter’s helping hand evolved into a lifelong manifesto: that the hands caring for the broken should never have to tremble alone.
“Seeing how my brother and mother were treated made me realize that caregivers also need recognition and support,” she says.
Determined to change that reality, Lavina founded the Heart to Heart Smile Community Based Organization, a grassroots initiative registered in 2018 in Kisumu Central. The organization operates in the Manyatta area, within a once-vacant space generously donated by community members as a gesture of support after witnessing her tireless dedication to the neighborhood.
Through her organization, Lavina advocates for the rights of children, youth, and adolescents with disabilities across Kisumu and the wider Lake Region. Her work encompasses prevention, rehabilitation, economic empowerment, and advocacy.
At the community level, she engages women on maternal health, believing that awareness at this stage can significantly reduce preventable disabilities. Through partnerships with hospitals and well-wishers, her organization conducts medical outreach and has distributed over 800 assistive devices, including wheelchairs and mobility aids, to vulnerable individuals.
“Most of the support comes from friends and well-wishers who believe in the work,” she notes.
Economic empowerment is another pillar of her mission. Caregivers and persons with disabilities (PWDs) meet twice a month in support groups to practice table banking, share experiences, and build solidarity. These groups serve as safe havens for mental wellness,a critical need for caregivers who often carry emotional burdens in isolation. Through partnerships with youth organizations like Tinada Youth Africa, where Lavina sits as a board member, beneficiaries have received small grants of up to KSh 35,000 to launch income-generating activities.
Beyond community programs, Lavina has stepped into national advocacy, pushing for the formal recognition of caregivers within Kenya’s legal and policy frameworks. For years, she notes, caregivers were invisible in policy discussions.
“We have representation for PWDs, women, and youth,” she says, “but caregivers were missing.”
Her advocacy contributed to the conversations that culminated in the National Disability Act of 2025, which finally recognizes the role of caregivers. She is also a key figure in coordinating Kisumu County Network for Caregivers and Parents of Children With Disabilities.
Furthermore, Lavina has participated in public consultations on the National Social Protection Act, advocating for unpaid caregivers to be included in social protection programs. “Caregiving is work,” she asserts. “It requires time, emotional strength, and resources.”
Despite her progress, Lavina has faced critics who question her right to lead because she does not have a disability herself. “I may not be a person with a disability, but caregiving is my life.”she states.
Her work also exposes her to the heartbreaking reality of children born with disability abandoned in hospitals due to stigma or poverty. In response, she works with partners to ensure these children receive protection while supporting Kenya’s transition toward family-based care systems ahead of the planned shift away from institutional care (children’s homes) by 2030.
Ultimately, Lavina’s work is about shifting attitudes. She encourages women to take leadership roles and find their voices. “If you do not speak out, people will take advantage of your silence,” she says.
Looking ahead, Lavina hopes to expand her advocacy into political leadership, believing that true representation is essential for overlooked communities. Her message to other advocates remains profound:
“Speak out, and you will be heard. But if you remain silent, your voice will never be heard.”