Holistic Development of Youths with Disabilities

Summary

The Project is to benefited One Hundred Fifty (150) disabled pupils/students. A total amount of $ 10,000 would be needed to help sponsor the education of handicapped children at Kurigram District in Bangladesh to Help & improve the incomes of 100 needy parents of Children with Disabilities. Cash grants will be provided to undertake Income Generating Activities to enhance their income and employmen/t aiming to socio economic development. The project aim to conduct Skill Development Training could be the best resort of turning the inner potentialities into formal workforces of the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). Deploying the PwDs in the skill development training and building competency could enhance their productivity significantly which in some extent exceeds even persons with non-disabilities. However, some reasonable adjustments, including building ramp, accessible washroom, experienced instructors, disable friendly teaching learning aids, special attention, community awareness building, and incentives, should be arranged for the active participation of the PwDs in the operation of project. 

Challenge/Problems

According to the social model of disability, the physical, social, and attitudinal barriers that people with disabilities face are the real problem, not the impairment itself. These barriers can include inaccessible buildings, lack of accommodations, negative attitudes, and discrimination.There exist negative attitudes and social taboos against Peoples with disabilities (PWD) in many parts of the District in country. This leads to the neglect of these vulnerable people hampering the development of their God-given potentials. Many parents thinks that, it is a waste of resources and an unnecessary bother to send the physically challenged such as the deaf, the blind or the cripple to school or for engaging Income Generation. These children are usually marginalized from vulnerable communities in rural areas. To change their attitude the project are streaming them in the development process the project needs to advocate at all levels stakeholders in communities. 

Solution

Village Initiative for Empowerment of Women (VIEW) will enhance the on-going Children with Disabilities Sponsorship Project in some selected Handicapped Schools in the areas. We have already identified needy children in the project areas and to facilitate their schooling with educational materials such as Clothing (school uniforms and footwear), School bags, Textbooks, Stationery, as a whole the project aims to provide learning materials for deserved children .Further the project will provide live skills training for sustainable income and employment generation. 

Objectives:

    To create social awareness about disability

    To ensure equal rights in society for the disabled

    Increased and more appropriate support for disabled persons and their families

    Increased social interaction between families with disabled in villages in the area.

    Integration of disabled children and young adults into the wider community

    To create a skilled work force within the disabled community by taking different sustainable projects, empowering youth and women. 

Major Project Interventions

Established School for Education, Livelihood Engagement: Provided health care facilities: Social and Family Awareness Program along with Vocational training. 

Major Achievements:

    Ten rounds of home visits and surveys were conducted to track the socioeconomic and livelihood status of 100 persons with disabilities.

    A mechanism was established to identify persons with disabilities at risk of falling back into poverty and make referrals to relevant government entities for further support services.

    Two vocational skills training sessions were organized, covering more than 40 persons with disabilities.

    Twelve self-help and mutual support groups – consisting of persons with disabilities and their household members, community leaders, successful local entrepreneurs and business owners – were established to facilitate mutual assistance and resource sharing to promote the sustained employment of persons with disabilities.

    Training in disability rights and inclusion was organized for more than 70 community volunteers.

    The establishment of self-help and mutual support groups, coupled with the organization of volunteer activities, ensured persons with disabilities could access different forms of assistance based on their diverse needs

    Improved monitoring and tracking of the socioeconomic and livelihood status of persons with disabilities to rapidly identify and support those at risk of falling back into poverty

    Strengthened community awareness and support for promoting the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities within society.

Long-Term Impact

Discover more about the impact of disabilities, including the effects on the individual, the family, and society. Truly inclusive financial services must cater to the special needs of persons with disabilities. Governments, companies, disability NGOs, trade unions and academia must be encouraged to commit and contribute towards achieving these objectives through different actions. An inclusive future of work can be reached through coordination and alliances among the different stakeholders. Improved monitoring and tracking of the socioeconomic and livelihood status of persons with disabilities. Strengthened vocational skills of persons with disabilities and Enhanced employment services for persons with disabilities. Increased awareness of disability rights and community support. 

Sustainability: 

The project has raised awareness of governments, civil society organizations and the general public on disability-related issues, creating a social environment conducive to the development and empowerment of persons with disabilities. The project has also promoted employment of persons with disabilities to enable them to generate income and enjoy an adequate standard of living. Moreover, improved monitoring and tracking of the livelihood status of persons with disabilities has made possible the quick identification of those at risk of falling back into poverty. Persons with disabilities in hardship were referred to relevant government entities for further support services. This project has created a long-term impact on the well-being of persons with disabilities. 

Appeals:

The project interventions we have been started from early November, 2022 and continued according to project plan. Some activities have been just started and while others activities will also be taken into consideration to implement. Budgetary funding is necessary to implement the programmes. By this time very small amount of funding were arranged through GlobalGiving to meet the operational cost. This project would not have been possible without the kind support and help of donors, friends and any individuals. To support the project fund raising is continued under GlobalGiving and we hope that all the people who are willingly would like to extend their support for the project is highly appreciated.Their generosity will makes a huge difference in the lives of many targeted children with disabilities.