Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral
Rachael Wanjagua is a postdoctoral research affiliate at UT Texas Center for Disability Studies. She holds a doctorate in Disability studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a masters degree in Disability Studies from the University of Cape Town. In her masters thesis, Rachael explored the family quality of life of caregivers and individuals with intellectual disabilities in Kenya. Her PhD dissertation focused on the services and support needs of families of people with intellectual disabilities in Kenya, using inclusive research approaches. Her focus on inclusive research together with families and people with intellectual disabilities aligns with the goals of the ARRT and those of several research projects run at TCDS.
Besides theoretical training, Rachael has practiced physiotherapy for fifteen years in rural communities in Kenya, providing essential services to children and youth who had disabilities, empowering families and communities with various skills and knowledges that were essential to addressing their wellbeing. She was also a co-founding member of L’Arche in Kenya, a community where people with and people who do not identify with intellectual disabilities share daily life together. At L’Arche, people with intellectual disabilities received individualized supports with work, recreation, and personal interests. Rachael shared life in L’Arche communities for 10 years in Kenya, Canada and United States.
Working with rural communities emboldened Rachael to trust in the resourcefulness of people, once they are provided with useful knowledge that they can utilize to solve the issues they confront daily. In the same way her research focuses on the strengths and resources that underserved communities have and use them to their advantage.
During her free time she likes spending time with her family.