Rehabilitation for 50 Children with Disabilities

Great Thank You for your continuous support to Children with Disabilities of Patan CBR Organization. with your support, till now we have succeeded in raising $ 26,395 amazing! Today I'm describing to you about the outing for Children at Bajrabarahi Jungle. Let's go and visit at the Jungle for a day!

The picnic day, an opportunity for CwDs to go for outing with their close ones has been the most awaited and exciting day for the students of CBR. This year, the picnic was held in Bajrabarahi on 15.02.2020. Our main objective behind undertaking this event was to visit new place; to gather all the members associated with CBR; to create an environment for CwDs to socialize and to have a nice experience with the children. CwDs, usually get less chance to socialize. So, during the picnic, they could improve their social networks.

All the members of CBR were invited for the picnic which included the CwDs, parents, family members, staffs, volunteers and the board members. In total, 155 people attended the picnic. Five buses were reserved for the day in order to facilitate people to take the bus from the nearest stop. The staff members were distributed to different stops so that they can manage to assemble people at the specified stops. Finally, at 10:00 am, everybody arrived in Bajrabarahi and assisted in loading the stuff to the spot.

On reaching the park, the children along with their parents enthusiastically explored the beautiful place and visited the temple in groups. After an hour journey, people were hungry. Fortunately, the catering members managed to settle everything and prepare the breakfast before 10:00am so everybody could enjoy their breakfast. The carpets were laid on the ground for children who cannot sit properly in chairs so that they can take rest and be comfortable. Various games were organized by the staff members to involve everybody in activities. We started with ‘Boccia’ game around 11:00 am. This game was specially planned for the children with physical disability. The names of 50 participants were announced and they were explained by the staff members on how to play the game. The most fun moment was when the CwDs played the ‘Balloon pop’ game where the balloons were tied in the hands of children and one had to blast the balloon of others and try to save the balloons in their own hands The chocolates were also distributed to the children as an addition to the surprise of the day.The ‘chocolate’ game was followed by the dance where, the children had to eat the hanging chocolates with hands on their back.

At 14:30, a special program was organized where the board members and the donors of school uniform, school bags and the picnic were honored for their constant support and contribution towards the organization. Thereafter, a short speech was given by the Head of board members about the picnic; the bag distribution that was to take place later that day and thanking everybody for their attendance and support to the organization. The donors were also given a chance to speak where they stated their happiness to be associated with such noble cause and expressed their willingness to help CBR in years to come. There were also few relatives of CwDs who were willing to donate some amount to CBR, they were also honored and appreciated with a token of love. The bags were distributed after the program to all the students of CBR. They received toothpaste, soap, color pencils and a handkerchief with the bag as an encouragement to remain hygienic.

At 15:00, the ‘Pot hitting’ game was played among the parents and the board members where, a pot is put in a fixed position and the blind folded person is given a stick in his/her hand. Once the person is blindfolded, he/she has to make few rounds and then tries to hit the pot with the stick. Unfortunately, nobody could win the game. Since the music system was repaired after the program, the children could enjoy themselves to the music again. At the same time, the parents played the ‘Musical chair’ game. Finally, the dinner was served around 15:45 and we had a safe and sound return trip by 16:00.

Indeed, it was a day well spent and the smiles on the children face indicated of a having a marvelous day. Additionally, as we have witnessed throughout the years that the parents of CwDs of CBR have good friendship between each other and with this event we could contribute in making their bond even stronger. Furthermore, we observed how we could form a cohesive social group for the CwDs and the guardians of CwDs to facilitate them in increasing their progress towards protection from isolation and made them feel integrated within the community.

Thank you all for helping Patan CBR Project. More than US $ 24000 raised and we are Superstar partner of GlobalGiving. All these happened to be possible because of your support. Hope for your support on the Year-End Fundraising Campaign happening throughout the month of December 2019.

Patan CBR has been facing many hindrances to ensure the rights and development of Children with Disabilities since its establishment in 1994. Having faced many challenges, the International Disability day is considered as the most important day of the year for our organization. This year (2019), on the occasion of 28^th international disability day, 28 organizations working under the field of disability in Lalitpur had taken part in the program organized and funded by the Lalitpur Metropolitan City. The children of all the organizations came along with their parents and they seemed to be very excited for the day. The responsibility of coordinating the program was taken by CBR. The children of CBR performed their dance amidst a huge mass.

 At 10 am, the rally ended in Mangalbazar, the center of Lalitpur. The special guests who attended the program included: the major, the deputy mayor, chief of Women Development unit and the chief of the Mangalbazar Police office.

Slogans for the 28^th International disability day comprised of the International slogan: ‘Future is accessible’; National slogan: ‘Sustainable development goal, disable friendly future’ and the informal translation for Local slogan: "Effort of all, disable friendly city".

The program was very well organized. Immediately as the rally ended, the participants were advised to be seated. It started with a short introduction to the importance of the program and thank all the people present over there for their love and support. During the announcements and also during the performance, sign language was being used for the audience who cannot hear. The children of all the organizations took part in the cultural program by playing an instrument, dancing and taking part in the drama. It started with the national anthem by the children unable to see and hear. Followed by solo Kumari Dance, group dance, group flute performance, and the drama. The drama depicted the important issues of the society and it required the involvement of the audience and the honorable guests as well. It displayed the difficulties that the disabled children had to go through due to the radically and socially inappropriate treatment towards them. The program was extremely important as Nepal the country which holds the belief that disability is the sin of one’s past life. Such a belief has constrained the approach of viewing disability.  Showcasing such talent and the ability of the group and creating awareness among the public for the inclusion of disabled people and their security was a small step towards our goal. In the country, where deviating a little from what the society considers normal exposes the vulnerable towards prejudicial treatment and discrimination, presenting the unity of the disabled and their supporters was a crucial step in displaying an outrage on the cultural values and norms that cling on to inequality and injustice.

Moreover, few stalls were set up displaying the works done by disabled children in the organization such as candles, earrings, bags, necklaces, keyrings and so on.

The program was very intense, affective, heart-warming and touching to the audience who were discriminated on the basis of physical and mental capability. We could notice that some of the parents of disabled children were in tears during the program as they could relate very deeply to the issues discussed. It encouraged them to believe in the capabilities of the so-called ‘incapable’. Moreover, with the participation of a huge audience and also with the presence of Media, we could extend our efforts on raising awareness on this particular issue.

The event was quite successful in conveying the message that disability cannot be overlooked. It has to be addressed and discussed to fulfill the demand of improving their living conditions. At around 1 pm, the program was concluded with the final words by the Deputy major expressing his desire to tackle the issues related to inclusive education, accessibility, security, employment and so forth and his hope to provide the transportation facility to all organizational members in the next year’s program.