Five to ten percent of the world's population has a disability or multiple disabilities. According to WHO estimates, 420 to 480 million people with disabilities live in the poorest regions of the world. One in four families living in poverty has at least one family member with a disability. Only a small minority of these people have access to basic facilities such as for basic health services, medical rehabilitation or education – and even if such facilities are available, they are barely affordable. 90% of rehabilitation services are carried out in industrialized nations. These statistics illustrate the challenge the work of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is faced with; these facts, bears witness to the situation of numerous individuals. Their situation is often one of hard, unbearable difficult circumstances, as people with disabilities are excluded and stigmatised and denied access to basic services in the poorest regions of the world. Persons with disabilities in the poorest communities do not have the opportunities to develop their potential, and are often abandoned to spend their entire lives in a state of dependence, even when it comes to the most basic and essential tasks. They need help washing, getting dressed, eating and moving around – which places an enormous weight on families in great poverty struggling to survive.
David (17) had polio as a child. Now, thanks to a special bicycle, he is independent and mobile and can take part in social life and go to school.
50% of these disabilities affecting persons living in chronic poverty could be prevented; they are directly linked to poverty. In many cases, especially among children, disabilities can be prevented or even cured by administering medication early (e.g. for high fever) or by simple surgical procedures (e.g., for club feet). Knowing the possibilities and bright future of the people behind these statistics motivates all LIGHT FOR THE WORLD employees.
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is committed to supporting people with disabilities living in poverty to develop and use their skills and talents. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD does this in many ways – by funding the provision of rehabilitation services and equipment, the training of health workers and rehabilitation workers and advocating for non-discrimination and an environment inclusive and accessible to all persons with disabilities.
In the field of rehabilitation support, assistive technologies such as the provision of crutches, canes for blind persons or the provision of hearing aids for hard of hearing persons, greatly facilitate the lives of persons with disabilities and their access to community life and to earning a living.
In a project in Southern Sudan, for example, a bicycle driven by a hand crank opened up an entirely new world for a young boy who acquired infantile paralysis. Instead of sitting alone in his parent’s house, as before, he is now out and about in his village. He goes to school and plays in the church music group. In many cases, however, long-term physiotherapy is necessary so that people with disabilities can develop their abilities and make the most of their potential and their strengths.
6-year-old Gebremeskel from Ethiopia is blind. As there are no special schools within a reasonable distance, rehabilitation worker Worku Asrat teaches him to read Braille.
Children with disabilities are a special focus of our attention. The sooner one starts to help, the greater the chances of success. In community-based rehabilitation programmes, local employees visit the families of children with disabilities and discuss the possible objectives and developmental steps for the child. The parents learn exercises to support the child, and the progress the child is making is evaluated jointly by the rehabilitation worker and the family.
For many parents, it is like a miracle when their child, who was entirely dependent on their care and support until then learns, through the assistance of the programme, to move independently. The progress an individual child makes does vary. For example, in one instance it may be that the success is that a child who could not hold his head up before is now able to sit up and eat on their own. In other cases, children have learned to walk on their own.
Both technical know-how and also a lot of creativity is demanded from the local employees, who are often required to make their own simple support tools from local resources. At present, the World Health Organisation is working to develop the model of "Community-based Rehabilitation". LIGHT FOR THE WORLD and partner organisations in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia are also participating in that development.
Education and training of children with disabilities is essential to enable their development and open up opportunities for the future. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD promotes the schooling of children with disabilities, and promotes their inclusion into regular schools whenever possible. Such inclusive education not only gives them access to education but also supports their social integration with other children of the same age.
In order to ensure that children with disabilities also receive the necessary specific support in regular classes, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD supports teacher training programmes in that field.
Special schools such as schools for children who are blind and partially sighted or deaf and hard of hearing are important as resource centres for the education of children for whom satisfactory inclusion in regular schools is not yet possible as they are not yet properly resourced.
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