CBM Global appoints Inclusive Development Director, Anderson Gitonga

News | January 11, 2022

International disability and development organisation CBM Global is delighted to announce that Anderson Gitonga has been appointed as its Inclusive Development Director. Anderson will lead in shaping CBM Global’s future focus in inclusive development at the community level.

Anderson Gitonga is standing up and holding a mic

This is a hugely important area for CBM Global, intersecting as it does across so many sectors. Framed by the CBID (Community Based Inclusive Development) matrix and guidelines, our CBID approach will ensure the foundations (or preconditions) for inclusion in community based programming. Our strategic partners, organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) have challenged us to prioritise these foundations, drawn from the various CRPD and disability rights approaches and including empowerment, self-advocacy, community awareness raising, accessibility, referral pathways etc. Building on this foundation, key intervention areas for this role cover livelihood and economic empowerment, inclusive education and inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction.  The approach supports CBM Global’s commitment to localization, connecting people with disabilities with each other, their families, the wider community and with decision makers – all undertaken in close partnership with OPDs and implementing partners and in alignment with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Anderson says: 

”I thank CBM Global for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. The vision, mission and values of CBM Global deeply resonate with my personal commitment towards ensuring the meaningful inclusion of all persons with disabilities in our societies, where all their human rights are respected and they are treated with dignity. Joining CBM Global as Inclusive Development Director gives me the inspiration to work closely with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and other stakeholders at the community level in supporting persons with disabilities to find pathways out of poverty, living independently and included in their communities, with choices equal to others. To effect such change in policy and at the community level, as persons with disabilities we must be at the forefront of these changes. As a person with a visual disability since childhood, this is what has motivated me to pursue disability and inclusion work all my life.”

Anderson brings with him over 25 years of experience as a community development specialist with a focus on disability and inclusive development. For the past 7 years he has served as Chief Executive Officer of the United Disabled Persons of Kenya and as Chair of the East Africa Federation of the Disabled.  He has previously held positions with Act Change Transform (formerly Pact Kenya), the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), Solidarity Human Rights Inclusion and Accessibility (SHIA), Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and others.

As Inclusive Development Director, Anderson will oversee the development and growth of CBM Global’s distinctive inclusive development strategy, working closely with Federation Members, country teams and a growing network of OPDs, partners and practitioners. Anderson has a personal passion for supporting and strengthening OPDs in their central role in inclusive community based programming, a commitment which sits at the heart of CBM Global’s strategy.

About CBM Global

CBM Global Disability Inclusion works alongside people with disabilities in the world’s poorest places to fight poverty and exclusion and transform lives. Drawing on over 100 years’ experience and driven by Christian values, CBM Global works with the most marginalised in society to:

  • break the cycle of poverty and disability;
  • treat and prevent conditions that lead to disability; and
  • build inclusive communities where everyone can enjoy their human rights and achieve their full potential.

Working in over 20 countries, CBM Global invests in long-term, authentic partnerships with the Disability Movement, multiplying impact by delivering a combination of inclusive community-based programmes, advocacy for national and global policy change and inclusion advice to other organisations.

Contact

Spokespeople are available for interview on request, including:

  • David Bainbridge, Executive Director, CBM Global
  • Kirsty Smith, Chief Executive of CBM UK
  • Hansjoerg Baltensperger, Chief Executive of CBM Switzerland
  • Jane Edge, Chief Executive of CBM Australia
  • Sarah O’Toole, Chief Executive of CBM Ireland
  • Murray Sheard, Chief Executive of CBM New Zealand

For more information about CBM Global or to request an interview, please email hello@cbm-global.org.

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