The History

Ranji and Chris Stubbs founded MENCAFEP in January 1988 to provide care for mentally disabled children and their families in Nuwara Eliya. The MENCAFEP Leaders say that with early intervention and good support systems, many mentally underdeveloped children can become productive members of the society. Many families with disabled children move to districts to be near the organisation. Today, MENCAFEP remains one of the few facilities providing such daycare programmes and is highly respected as a key trainer for other regional organisations.

MENCAFEP also counters social stigma surrounding the birth of disabled children, such as the religious belief that disabilities are due to wrongdoings in babies’ or parents’ previous lives. MENCAFEP Leaders concede that this deeply rooted belief is difficult to dispel, but point out that efforts to fight stigma have resulted in parents learning to properly care for their disabled children rather than abandoning them.