Piloting the WHEEL of Livelihoods in Kenya and Tanzania: The Work and Better Life Project
Introduction
Work and Better Life (Kazi na Maisha Bora) is a three-year pilot project that empowers young people with disabilities to achieve a better quality of life through work. It is an inclusive livelihoods project for youth with disabilities (and in some cases for parents or caregivers of children or youth with severe and multiple disabilities) in Kenya and Tanzania.
The project implementation is done by local partner networks coordinated by Cheshire Disability Services (CDSK) in Kenya and Beyond Inclusion (BI) in Tanzania in partnership with Liliane Fonds. It aims to directly empower 380 youth with disabilities and engage at least 150 stakeholders from their immediate environments.
Context:
In both Kenya and Tanzania, youth with disabilities continue to face significant barriers to employment, including inaccessible vocational training, social and internalised stigma, and exclusion from economic opportunities.
Work and Better Life addresses these challenges by piloting the WHEEL of Livelihoods model, an innovative approach developed by Liliane Fonds in collaboration with its national partners in different countries in Africa and Asia. The project supports each youth in developing a customised learning pathway toward work and inclusion, based on their own vision for success.
Objectives & results
- Youth with Disabilities (YWD) have sustainable livelihoods
o YWD have improved life skills and social-emotional wellbeing
o YWD have wage employment
o YWD run successful businesses - Stakeholders in the enabling environment together with YWD lead disability inclusion in their communities
o Training and work environments are accessible for and inclusive of people with disabilities (PWD)
o Selected YWD and stakeholders lead and advocate for disability inclusion in skills and work in their communities
o Participating communities take actions to improve disability inclusion in their economic and social functioning
About the WHEEL of Livelihoods Model
The WHEEL of Livelihoods is a comprehensive, phased approach to disability-inclusive livelihoods programming. It supports young people with disabilities to transition from unemployment and exclusion to employment or entrepreneurship and inclusion with support from an enabling environment around them.
This project serves as the first pilot of the WHEEL of Livelihoods model.
Building an inclusive enabling environment
Beyond direct empowerment, Work and a Better Life strengthens the broader environment by engaging stakeholders and communities to lead disability inclusion efforts. This includes:
- Making training and work environments accessible and inclusive for youth with disabilities (PWD).
- Enabling selected youth with disabilities and stakeholders to lead and advocate for disability inclusion in skills development and work within their communities.
- Supporting participating communities to take concrete actions that improve disability inclusion in their economic and social functioning.
These efforts ensure that youth with disabilities are supported not only individually but also through an enabling ecosystem at community level that promotes their rights and opportunities.
Innovations piloted
To support these outcomes, the project pilots several innovative approaches:
- Personal Professional Development Plans (PPDP): Tool that help youth create a vision for success, clarify their core values, set goals, and develop actionable plans for personal and professional growth. The PPDP informs the custom pathway of each youth throughout the project.
- Social Emotional Learning (SEL): youth with disabilities acquire social and emotional skills through peer learning in groups guided by facilitators from local partner organisations in their area
- Vlogging: As part of the WHEEL pilot, youth with disabilities use vlogging to document their personal transformation journeys, from unemployment and isolation to skills development and meaningful work. Through their own words and reflections, youth capture key moments of growth, realizations, and shifts in mindset, offering invaluable input for program learning and adaptation.In addition to informing the project, vlogging also serves as a tool for the youth themselves. It supports them in developing digital skills, building their personal platforms, promoting their work or businesses, and sharing their stories through social media—enhancing visibility and agency in their communities.
