The 38-year-old mother of three says that most of her discomfort was triggered by the gawping, stares and ill treatment she faced on a daily basis. "During the first years, I often used to ask myself why I had been given such a child. "It was tough walking around with my child because of the looks I got," says Ms Mutemi, who lives in Katoloni village in eastern Kenya.

Agnes says Nambia had asphyxia, a condition that occurs when a baby is deprived of oxygen during the birth process. As a result, Nambia's limbs were weakened and her mental development affected. 'Healed' After numerous physiotherapy sessions, Agnes enrolled her daughter in an early childhood education school when she was three.

"It was only after Nambia spent six years in nursery school and still couldn't do basic things that I realised something was wrong," says Agnes, adding that the cost of medical care for a mentally ill child in Kenya is very high. "I had wanted my daughter to have a career - to become a teacher, a professor or a doctor, but that was not to be."