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The National Centre
of Disabled Persons (NCDP) is running a Community Based
Rehabilitation (CBR) program in selected districts of Phnom Penh
Municipality, Kandal and
Kompong Speu
provinces since 1998. At the beginning of 2007, program has been
expanded to 2 provinces Takeo and
Kampot. UNICEF supports NCDP CBR program
activities in Kompong
Speu since February 2001. Baptist World
Aid Australia (BWAA) supports in Kandal
Takeo, Kampot
and Phnom Penh since January 2004. Kangaroo Fund supports NCDP CBR
program activities in all target areas since 31st
December 2005.
Cambodia's disabled
population is estimated at 4.7% of its total population. It based on
the Socio-Economic Family Survey in 2004 of the National Institute
of Statistic. The United Nations estimates that approximately 10% of
the world’s population, or approximately 650 million people have a
disability, and about 80%of the population with a disability live in
developing countries (source: UN Secretariat Disability Paper
(E/CN.5/2008/6 available at www.ods.un.org)). Disability result from
a combination of factors including inadequate prevention
(vaccination, pre/postnatal care), macro-economic conditions,
nutritional deficiency, weapons and violence, chemical substances,
rapid modernization and an ageing population. The country's health,
education and social services lack of the financial and human
resources to cope with the overwhelming needs of
PwDs. Like elsewhere around the world,
PwDs face many barriers to full
participation and are likely to face an increased risk of social
exclusion. This may include being unable to access education, health
services, less likely to find employment, earn a living or
participate in decision making. Moreover, they tend to be poorly
integrated into their communities, which make them one of the most
vulnerable groups in the society.
Disability can not
be defined exclusively in medical or scientific terms.
Socio-economic, cultural, historical and religious factors need to
be taken to account too. A broad definition of disability is
proposed for the program as mention in article 1 of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – “Persons with
disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental,
intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with
various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation
in society on an equal basis with others”. The program will aim
to reduce barriers faced by PwDs in NCDP
target areas and promote their equal participation and access to
opportunities, services and benefits of development. It means to
Integrate
and Empower
PwDs
into the society. The program also plays a key role in working with
PwD to improve their ability to express
themselves and to engage with other; it means working with
PwDs and their families, and with the
whole community and authorities to improve quality of life, fully
rights participation in the community by addressing the poor access
to services of any kind and their lack of integration.
Partnership have
been set up with the number of organizations involved with health,
physical rehabilitation to cater for PwD
needs that can not be met at community level. Program also works
closely with local authority, Ministry of Education Youth and Sport
(MoEYS), Ministry of Social Veteran and
Youth (MoSVY), Institution in commune
and district level where is NCDP/CBR working.
Description
Activities
NCDP/CBR program Community Coordinator (CC), Community Coordination
Supervisor (CCS) provides services to people affected by a wide
range of disabilities. At a given time, they each concentrate their
efforts on 20 to 25 clients a month (current clients), who include
severely disabled people, children and women with disabilities but
disabled people in dire socio-economic situations as well. These
clients, receiving the core of the services, are visited weekly.
Focusing on a limited number of individuals at a time, the program
provides higher quality services to the most vulnerable.
1. Individual
Service Provision
a- Counseling:
To counsel parents and PwD in case of
depression with their disabilities, and make sure that they would
not be abandoned their child and co-operates with NCDP/CBR staff to
find out the best way could be helped them.
b- Child
Stimulation: It could be
related with fine motor and gross motor in order to make sure
children with moving difficulties will be better. The NCDP/CBR staff
used game as toys, puzzles, puppet, and Jigsaws to play with them
and hand over the training to the parent or relative who could have
enough time to provide this service to PwD.
c- Mobilization:
This is an activity to help PwD with
serious moving difficulties to make sure their joints not stiff such
as unable to lift one's arm/leg.... The NCDP/CBR staff using therapy
skills, which is receiving from an Occupational Therapist during
referrals to rehab-centre such as: passive activity, active
activity, passive + active activities
d- Teaching Self
Help Skills: During home
visit, self help skills such as washing, bathing, eating, toilet
using, dressing and social are promoted. These activities could be
helped PwD living independently and
reduce workload from their parents.
e- Aid to Daily
Living (ADL): The
possibilities for Aid to Daily Living are assessed and if applicable
it will be made and /or purchased and provided by the program.
Sometimes make it at home in collaboration between NCDP/CBR staff
and parents. These ADLs produces at low
cost, foster independence in adults and enable children to develop
at their own pace.
f- Referrals:
Whenever health and rehabilitation services are needs but not
available at community level, referrals towards the most appropriate
service providers are arranged in co-ordination with the relevant
agencies. The program staffs disseminates information about service
available, but also provides or pays for transport, per-diem to
PwD and families, for accommodation when
needed or medical fees when required.
2. Educational
and Vocational Skills Training Support
Educational is a
universal rights and important to a human being, in all communities,
from birth throughout life. Children and adults with disabilities
are some of the most excluded and marginalized group within
education. It is particularly important for
PwDs as rights in itself but also to enable them to access
other rights. The community and families have an essential and
central role in promoting, sustaining and influencing education
provision.
Related to
education support, the NCDP/CBR staff
provides literacy and counting number skills at home when feasible
with children with disabilities (ChwDs)
who have schooling age before send them to mainstream school. They
link between ChwDs, family, school's
teachers, headmasters providing information on disability, but also
arranging for transport (local motor taxi, bicycle...), paying for
private class fees, uniforms, and/or supplies.
Through interview
and discussing between the program staff with the
PwD and parents, the young boy/girl with
disability who wants to have future career, staff will refer them to
NCDP/IRS program to register for scholarship and/or vocational skill
training such as tailoring, repairing bicycle/motorbike, repairing
TV/Radio/VCD player etc.....
Regarding a special
class where is placing in Serey
Dey Doh
Primary School in Kandal area, the
program continues to hire a special teacher for teaching 7 children
with mild-intellectual disabilities 3 days per-week. In addition,
she will continue to do home visit their family regarding children
not come to school, children hygiene and counselling parents to
regular sending children to school. She will also send children to
attend events when requires from the program.
3. Promotion UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities
Every 6 months, each committee member in collaborate with
DoSVY officer and commune authorities
conduct awareness session in the commune level to provide
information to PwD, parents, teachers
and community leaders on disabilities issues advocating for positive
attitudes and equalization of opportunities. A set of pictures
illustrate about all project, program activities of NCDP, handouts
describe about 8 type of disabilities, photos illustrating
successful people with disabilities, mostly in rural Cambodia, is
used. A Video Compaq Disk produced DPF project in monthly, During
session, program will provide gift to whom able to question and
answer related to disability and Rights of Person with Disabilities
knowledge.
4. Accessibility
The possibility of
toilet/ramp/railing will assess and install where providing facility
to PwD in house and/or public place in
commune level such as commune office, commune health centre, school
and pagoda.
5. Income
Generation
When the socio-economic
situation of a family threatens the success of the program
intervention, a grant of a maximum amount of $150 can be released.
The program staff is responsible for
assessing the individual situation. The assets, the potential, the
needs and the local context of each household are taken into
account, and key informants (village leaders,
neighbors...) consulted.
Once a decision is
made regarding the amount of the grant and the nature of the
purchase (tools, sewing machine, cow, chicken, grocery stock, raw
materials...) the money is released. The NCDP/CBR supervisor
provides the household with regular support for several months to
ensure decisions are consistent with the original plan. Most grants
are used for income generation purposes. |