Integrating Disability into Development Programmes

Bibliographies : Save the Children (UK)

Sue Stubbs, December 1993

Guiding Principles and Key Questions:-

No Save the Children Fund (SCF) - supported programmes should only target able-bodied children/adults. Therefore it should be assumed that disabled children/parents are part of all target groups.
The best way to ensure that there is a ‘disability perspective’ in all of SCF’s work is to involve disabled people and their families in decision-making throughout the project.
‘Disability’ is primarily about the exclusion of people with impairments through attitudinal, physical, social and institutional barriers. All projects can aim to eliminate these barriers and meet ordinary needs (food, shelter, stimulation, friendship, love etc.) of disabled children and their families. Disability project may focus on ‘special’ needs such as rehabilitation, correction of impairment and special education, but ultimately the goal is for everybody to be seen as having some common needs and some individual needs. In other words, for difference to be seen as normal.

1. To what extent are disabled people and their families consulted in the project design, monitoring and evaluation?

Identify local, national and regional Disabled Peoples’ Organisations (DPOs). Investigate developing an appropriate partnership. DPOs vary greatly in their levels of development as organisations, and in terms of which types of disability they represent.

Examples of partnership with DPOs; contacting them when recruiting staff for SCF offices and projects and aiming to recruit disabled people, including them in training courses, consulting with them in developing country strategies.

Identify organisation of parents and organisations for disabled people at local, national and regional levels. Get to know them and include them in discussions and decisions on project design, monitoring and evaluation.

2. Are the building (offices, latrines, health centres etc.) which are rented or built for the project accessible to the disabled people in the community? (People with various types of mobility impairment, visual impairment and wheelchair users.)

The ventilated pit latrines in Amaoti shack community in South Africa were built to be accessible to the disabled people in the community. This does not just mean wheelchair accessible, but took into account the needs of people who could not squat easily. Design can also help people with visual impairment.

The SCF office in Zanzibar has added ramps and made the toilet wheelchair accessible in order to enable our partners to visit the office.

3. Are the transport needs of disabled people and their families taken account of to give them access to the project?

In Nepal there is not yet a particular problem of transport for disabled children due to the tradition of carrying heavy loads for long distances, ironically this will become more of a problem as roads and public transport increase.

Carers of disabled children (parents, siblings, other relatives) are often housebound and therefore will not be able to visit centres for health, nutrition or other services. A child nutrition project in Kibwezi in Kenya linked with the community based rehabilitation (CBR) programme to identify families with disabled children who needed food supplements, they were then able to visit these families, whilst continuing to serve most people via a centre.

4. Do training materials acknowledge disabled people?

Are there pictures of disabled mothers, children, adults in all training materials?

5. Do training courses acknowledge disabled people?

Do training courses mention disabled children and adults? Do the welcome them and emphasise the relevance of the content to all people?

For example in a nutrition programme, are parents given information on feeding their disabled children (positioning, etc.)?

6. How do disabled people, their families and project staff get access to information about disability?

Some projects have started a disability resource centre. Sometimes there may be another non-government organisation (NGO) who have access to a wider range of information. SCF produces the DRIP (Disability Resource and Information Pack) for more general information.

7. Disabled people and their families are often isolated and excluded for a range of attitudinal reasons (e.g. thinking epilepsy is contagious, or the family is cursed). How will the project target attitude change and ensure that disabled people and their families are welcome and accepted?

Providing disability awareness sessions for SCF staff and partners.

Awareness-raising sessions with the community, facilitating support groups at community level (mothers, families, disabled adults etc.).

8. What is the impact of the project on disabled people and their families as an integral part of the general target group?

Indicators for assessing impact:
Look for improvements in the following five measures of impact at the level of a) the individual, b) the family, c) the community, d) organisational, including government. See the Nepal CBR Evaluation for more detail.

i. Presence: are disabled children/adults and their families visibly present in the project in the same environments as other people (e.g. are they at school, in the day centre, in the work place)?

ii. Participation: are disabled children/adults and their families involved and participating in the life of the community in a meaningful way (e.g. are they being educated appropriately, making relationships, contributing through work)?

iii. Choice: is there an increase in their capacity for choice and decision-making - a move from being passive to active (e.g. speaking at meetings, disabled children making same choices as non-disabled children, ‘empowerment’)?

iv. Respect: is there an increase in respect shown to disabled people and their families - lack of abuse, appreciation of abilities and contribution?

v. Knowledge and skills: is there an increase in the knowledge and skill level of disabled people and their families?

Regional Disability Workshop

Small Group Exercise

1. Is it important that disabled people and disabled children’s families play a leadership role in community initiatives? Why? How?

2. Has community participation meant compliance with the programme or control of your programme by the community?

3. How can the concept of ‘self reliance’ be used for or against the community?

4. What strategies can be used for community participation in societies where the government has a very dominant role in determining the extent and control of communities?

5. How do you encourage women and children (especially disabled women and children) to have a leading voice in the decisions that concern them, especially in cultures where their views are not usually taken into account?

6. What have been your positive and negative experiences of community participation? In your experience does the concept of participation promote self-determination or compliance?

7. What are the predominant attitudes towards disabled children and people in the communities in which you work (positive and negative)?

8. In your experience what are the main causes of these attitudes? What do they stem from?

1. Do you have links with organisations of disabled people and with service providers?

If yes, how?

What was done?

When?

If no, why not?

What can you do about it?

When?

2. Have you ensured that books/posters used in your workplace reflect positive images and attitudes towards disability?

If yes, how?

When?

If no, why not?

What can you do about it?

When?

3. Have training needs for you and your staff on disability issues been identified for the next year?

If yes, how?

What was done?

Sue Stubbs

Bibliographies : Save the Children (UK)

11/11/1998