Nairobi News

When Ms Emily and Benard Korir met while they were studying in High School here in Kenya they never thought that they would years later be featured in the Forbes Magazine for an idea they used to share and dismiss as unachievable.

Mr Bernard, a real estate developer, was a student at Njoro Boys in Nakuru County while Ms Emily was a student at Kapropita Girls High School in Baringo County.

“When we first set eyes on each other during an inter-school function in the 80s, we just exchanged smiles and from there we kept on talking even after school,” Ms Emily told Nairobi News.

In 1994, Ms Emily got a scholarship to study in Japan and ended up in Australia.

However, in 2002, she moved to the United States of America (USA) after she was invited by Mr Korir an Australian-based businessman.

In the same year, they got married but decided to move back to Australia which they felt was the best place to raise their children.

Ms Emily has a background and passion for Human Resource Management and they together had an idea of helping the disabled since their days in High School.

“I grew up sickly and was being taken care of by my grandmother and mother. That is how the idea of helping the disabled always walked with me,” she said.

According to her, they then started it small but on October 18, 2023, the Forbes Magazine stated that the BET Group that she runs has revolutionized Australia’s disability sector and earned global accolades.

The group was started in 2016, four years’ prior Ms Emily had been hit by a stroke which became a reminder that she had to kick off the idea that she had walked with since her childhood.

“To be honest, I want to thank my husband as he has been the silent hero in my amazing story. When I suffered a stroke, he stood by me and we walked the journey together. Were it not for him then I would not be here and of course, BET Group could have been just a dream,” she said.

She said that at times she just wonders were it not for Bernard how could she rise up again from a state of being motionless for months where she could not write, walk, or even talk?

The Forbes Magazine said that the BET Group usually provides top-notch housing and support services to people with disabilities across Australia.

It says that according to the 2023 statistics about 4.4 million Australians live with some form of disability.

“Yet, the availability of accessible, high-quality housing remains inadequate,” the Forbes Magazine reports.

She told Forbes Magazine that she has in the year 2023 won the Global Recognition Awards for her achievements.

The awards include; the Prestigious National Disability Service Provider of the Year and a 2023 Global Recognition Award.

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