The God Who Sees: Dignity in Places the World Overlooks
In a world obsessed with power, productivity, and perfection, it’s easy to overlook those who don’t seem to fit the mold. But Scripture tells us that God doesn’t miss a thing. He is El Roi, "the God who sees" (Genesis 16:13), the One who notices the forgotten, honors the overlooked, and restores dignity to those society has cast aside.
This month, we reflect on what it means to be seen by God in the hidden places—and how we can follow His lead in restoring dignity to those the world often forgets, especially people with disabilities.
Dignity Through Work
Around the world, people with disabilities face overwhelming barriers to employment. According to the United Nations, between 80–90% of people with disabilities are unemployed or out of the labor force entirely (2023). In Sierra Leone, the disparity is especially stark: just 1.8% of people with disabilities are employed, compared to 51.8% of their nondisabled peers (UNFPA, 2023). Across sub-Saharan Africa, over 90% of people with disabilities who do work are in the informal sector, often without stability, protection, or fair wages (ILO, 2021).
This is not just an economic issue. It is a matter of human dignity.
Work provides more than income. It gives purpose, community, and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully. It is a vital way we reflect the image of a creative and industrious God. As Dallas Willard writes, work is the expending of energy to produce goods or services that benefit human beings. In our work, we participate in the ongoing creative work of God.
Yet for people with disabilities, who are too often excluded from work, this participation is not just about livelihood. It’s about reclaiming dignity, purpose, and belonging.
At Accessible Hope International, we believe restoring access to work is about more than economics. It’s about restoring people to their God-given place in the community and in the mission of God.
What does it mean to be seen by God? And how can dignified work become a form of restoration for those the world forgets?
Restoring Hope: Stories of Resilience
Despite the barriers, countless people with disabilities across Africa are reclaiming their dignity through work.
In Sierra Leone, women with disabilities are experiencing deep spiritual and economic transformation through the GROW Program (Gathering to Receive, Opportunity for Work). This year-long initiative is equipping women to grow in dignity, purpose, and independence. Each woman meets twice weekly in a small group of five, listening to pre-recorded Bible stories and discussion questions on handheld audio devices. Through this oral Bible teaching method, women are deepening their faith and discovering their God-given worth.
They also receive small business grants and contribute regularly to a communal savings fund. Every five weeks, one group member receives the pooled funds, allowing for meaningful investment in their families, homes, and livelihoods. From repairing a roof to buying rice, launching a soap business, or paying exam fees for their children, the impact is tangible and lasting.
As one participant, Marie, shared: “I used my funds to buy a female sheep, and she has now given me a lamb.” Another, Kadiatu, expressed joy that she could finally plaster the floor of her home. These stories represent more than just material gain, they reflect a restoration of dignity, hope, and agency. Through GROW, women who were once overlooked are now becoming leaders, entrepreneurs, and disciples of Jesus in their communities.
In Tanzania, the Adult Program Centre at Step by Step Learning Centre (SSLC) is restoring dignity through work by equipping young adults with disabilities to gain practical, hands-on skills. At the Centre, young adults are trained in hospitality, agriculture, and crafts, preparing them for meaningful employment and fuller participation in their communities. Whether learning how to care for livestock, cook meals, or create artisan goods, these youth are not only acquiring skills—they’re building confidence, independence, and a deeper sense of purpose.
In a context where stigma and exclusion often limit opportunity, this kind of vocational empowerment is life-changing. It allows young people with disabilities to contribute to society, support their families, and live out the truth that they are created with value, gifts, and calling.
These stories are not exceptions. They are examples of what happens when we invest in capacity, not charity. When we shift from seeing people with disabilities as recipients of aid to agents of transformation, everything changes.
Theology in Action
Jesus made it clear that the Kingdom of God belongs to those the world often overlooks.
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16), we see that dignity is not earned by status or productivity, but by being seen, chosen, and given meaningful work. The landowner goes out repeatedly throughout the day to hire laborers, some early, some late, and pays them all the same. When he asks those hired last why they’ve been standing idle, they respond, “Because no one has hired us.”
This echoes the experience of many people with disabilities today, left out, not because they are unwilling, but because they are unseen.
At Accessible Hope International, we believe that inclusion is not optional for the Church, it is essential to its witness. That includes creating opportunities for meaningful work and participation. We affirm that every person, regardless of ability, has gifts to offer, a calling to pursue, and dignity in both faith and work.
What Can We Do?
Creating access to employment is one of the most powerful ways we can uphold the dignity of people with disabilities. This includes:
Supporting job training and entrepreneurship programs
Encouraging inclusive hiring practices
Partnering with churches and community groups to create pathways to work
Listening to and following the lead of people with disabilities
The Church’s Call
May we be reminded that the full inclusion of people with disabilities is not optional for the Church, it is essential to its mission. This includes more than just physical access or charitable outreach. It includes the call to dignified work.
When the Church creates space for people with disabilities to contribute through meaningful work—whether in business, ministry, caregiving, or community life—we are not doing them a favor. We are living out the Gospel. We are recognizing that every person is created in the image of a working God—a God who plants, builds, heals, and restores.
As followers of Christ, we are called to break down barriers that prevent people from participating fully in the life and work of the Church. When we welcome only those who meet certain norms of ability, we diminish the Gospel’s power. But when we create space for those the world overlooks, we reflect the heart of El Roi—the God who sees.
This month, may we repent of the ways we’ve excluded. May we learn from those in the margins. And may we, like our Savior, call forth the dignity in every person through belonging, purpose, and meaningful participation.
International Labour Organization. (n.d.). ILO modelled estimates and projections database (ILOEST). ILOSTAT. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data
United Nations. (2013). The State of the World’s Children: Children with disabilities. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-children-2013
United Nations. (2015). #Envision2030: 17 goals to transform the world for persons with disabilities. https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html
United Nations. (2022). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sierra Leone. (2023). National report on persons with disabilities 2023: Summary of findings from the 2021 population and housing census. https://sierraleone.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Disability%20Report.pdf
World Health Organization & World Bank. (2011). World report on disability. Geneva: WHO Press. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241564182
