The Foundation for Tomorrow (F4T), a Kenyan nonprofit working to advance disability-inclusive health and community resilience, has been named the 2025 Global Local Adaptation Champions Award Winner in the Health Category at the UNFCCC COP30 Conference in Belém.
The award, presented by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), recognizes outstanding locally led initiatives that strengthen climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Now in its fourth year, the competition attracted more than 450 entries from 89 countries.
F4T stood out for its Integrated Home and Community-Based Rehabilitation (IHCBR) model, an approach that delivers therapy, essential rehabilitation, and psychosocial support directly to homes—particularly in informal settlements and rural regions across Kenya. The program trains caregivers and community health volunteers on climate-related health risks and helps local health facilities adopt inclusive, climate-smart practices.
Receiving the award on behalf of the organization, F4T Executive Director George Tumwa Kakala reflected on the organization’s origins and mission.
“Our journey began in the informal settlements of Nairobi and the rural Rift Valley region of Kenya, where children and persons with disabilities faced daily challenges intensified by climate change,” he said. “Through our IHCBR initiative, we brought therapy, healthcare, and community rehabilitation directly to the doorsteps of the most vulnerable.”
Kakala emphasized that the recognition belonged to the families, caregivers, and community partners who power the program: “This award is a celebration of collaboration… and a reminder that inclusion is not charity, but justice.”
He added that F4T plans to scale its work so that “no one, regardless of ability, is left behind in the fight for a healthy and sustainable planet.”
The IHCBR model addresses the widening health gaps caused by droughts, floods, heat stress, and displacement, ensuring that children and persons with disabilities continue receiving care even during climate shocks. It also promotes local leadership by aligning with the Principles of Locally Led Adaptation, a framework increasingly championed by global climate actors.
With the award comes a €15,000 prize, which F4T will use to expand its community-led health adaptation programs.
For Kenya, the recognition marks an important moment of international visibility in advancing disability inclusion within climate and health policy.
Founded in Kenya, the Foundation for Tomorrow focuses on improving the rights, visibility, and wellbeing of vulnerable groups—especially children and persons with disabilities—through health services, inclusive education, and resilience-building initiatives.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
