2005  
 
     
In January SMRC was provided accreditation by the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee Enable - Promoting the rights of Persons with Disabilities. It now attains status of the only NGO in India accredited to participate in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee

SMRC’s Views in:

Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development
Newsletter 10,April 11, 2005
 
Disability and Development policy

P.O.Box 3356; 3502 GJ Utrecht Netherlands

Editor: Aartjan ter Haar

On December 26th, the Tsunami hit many coasts in Southern Asia. The disaster evoked a massive worldwide relief response, but, even in this arena, people with disabilities remain invisible. This article is a collection of respon3ses from Southern organisations to a discussion statement on the disability dimension in emergency relief work.

The following writers contributed to the newsletter:
A.C.M. Rumaiz, General Secretary-Chief Executive of Child Vision Sri Lanka. Child Vision Sri Lanka
Cyril Siriwardane, Secretary General of Disability Organisations Joint Front, Sri Lanka.
Aiko Akiyama, project expert on disability. UNESCAP, Emerging Social Issues Division (ESID), Thailand.

N.G. Kamalawathie, President of AKASA. AKASA is the Association of Women with Disabilities in Sri Lanka.
 
Ashok Hans of SMRC wrote:
Exclusion
Disability is usually excluded in disaster policies, planning and implementation. When it is included, thought processes always begin with the assumption that disabled people are recipients of assistance and not contributors. The disaster management and mitigation bodies of most governments do not automatically include representation from national, state and local agencies dealing with disabilities.
Our solution: A community based approach in which disability is not only a medical or survival problem, but also a social one. Specific Programmes for Women with Disabilities during disasters need to be made re. the prevention of violence, economic empowerment and specific health issues.This article is published in Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development newsletter 10, contents of the newsletter and for downloading the newsletter please click www.dcdd.nl?2624
 
Meeting with Rehabilitation International
 
Prof. Asha Hans visited RI headquarters in New York in June to meet its Secretary General Tomas Lagerwall and other members. It was a moving meeting as SMRC has known Tomas since 1986. Issues pertaining to the disability meeting were discussed.
GENDER AND DISABILITY
Impaired Citizenship and Forms of Exclusion:Ageing and Disability
SMRC organized organized A sub- theme in the IAWS at its XIth National Conference in Goa India 3rd-6th May 2005
 
The theme of disability and old age was introduced in the IAWS Conference for the first time at its XIth National Conference. The aim of this theme was to locate women’s voices and experiences, especially those of the disabled and ageing who are excluded from citizenship and the feminist as well as the disabled agendas and movements.

History was made at IAWS with the introduction of this theme. This historical moment created an intersection of the women’s movement with the disability movement in India For the first time in an effort at mainstreaming by Shanta memorial Rehab center an NGO from India and Abilis Foundation of Finland, women with disabilities joined an IAWS Conference in large numbers.
 

As disability cuts across all categories of class and caste, we the participants of sub-theme eight resolve

  1. We appreciate the contribution made by the Indian Association of women’s Studies in creating a historic event by including its disabled members.
  2. Disability should be a part of the general theme of Women’s Studies and movements in India in the future and in the IAWS conferences
  3. We acknowledge that the disabled citizens are deprived of their basic social political, economic and cultural rights, we appeal to IAWS and other agencies to make endeavors to include disability perspective in women’s studies programs and its movement.
  4. Fulfill the Millenium Goals and goals set by the Beijing Platform for Action and CEDAW in the context of women with disabilities
  5. Recognizing that there has been a shift from the medical to social understanding of disability, we the participants appeal to the IAWS to arrange for a main plenary so that the issues are discussed before all participants and is not confined to disabled participants and the converted do not carry out a discourse with the converted only.
  6. Recognizing the mobility and communication issues that disabled women face in participations of such meetings we appeal that future conferences are fully accessible and disable friendly.
  7. We also appeal that volunteers be assigned to those who need them since we believe in a truly inter-dependent society

Let us make a beginning
 
Conference on Inclusion of Disability in Disaster Response
 
 
Poverty, Equity and Health Research ;Mumbai, 12 to 16 September 2005

Setting International Standards for Inclusion of Disability in Disaster Response: 17th September 2005 Mumbai

As part of its ongoing programme on mainstreaming disability disasters a workshop was organized in Mumbai. The Mumbai meeting was based on two research themes carried out earlier locally on Disaster response. In response to the surveys in the district of Jagatsingpur, which is the most disaster prone area in Orissa called the Disaster State of India, two training manuals were prepared. One on gender (By the school of Women’s Studies, Utkal university where I was Director) and the other by SMRC on disability. Our work and the occurrence of the Tsunami showed those standards were completely lacking in India and in most neighboring countries. That though standards such as of the Sphere project existed and that they were adopted in countries like Sri Lanka disability was a completely missing factor.
Keeping this in view attempts were made to highlight the issue at the international level. The idea was given to Judy Heumann and Harold Snider at the World Bank and both showed great interest in the subject. Mary Anne Burke of the Global forum suggested we hold the meeting as a satellite meet of their annual meeting this time known as Forum 9 to be held in Mumbai from 12th-16th September 2005.
Forum 9 was an international meet opened by the President of India and the Minister of Health and was attended by about 900 persons worldwide. Some of these were invited to the International Standard meet and agreed to stay among them were as did Moira Horgan Jones just retired Executive Director of DPI, Mary Chamie of the U.N. Statistical Office New York, Lonore Manderson from Melbourne University Australia, Adam Brasely of the Gene Ethic Network Australia, and Monica Bartley of the Combined Disabilities Association of Jamaica. Handicap International sent Faizul Kabir from Bangladesh, and the Lutheran World Service sent K.G.Mathaikutty. DanChurchAid was represented by Sudhanshu Shekhar Singh.
As Judy Heumann and Dr. Snider could not come due to the Africa Decade she prepared a video talk including two speakers Anne Hayes of CIR and Mary. The video was introduced by Philip O’Keefe of the World Bank. Sabri Rbeihat, Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability who came to Forum 9 as a keynote speaker during the Plenary on Health research and equity provided the support needed. Besides the international participants were those who had expertise in disability and disasters in India. Among these were gender specialists Prof Laxmi Lingam and Sandhya Limaye from the Tata Institute of Social Science, J.K. Mukherjee from Andaman Nicobar the island in India hit most by the
Tsunami. Navjeevan from ROH an organization from Andhra working on disability and disaster. Varsha Hooja from National Resource Centre for Inclusion Spastic Society of India, and Sunita Sanchet and Dr. Anita Prabhu of ADAPT. The meeting was also lucky to have Ravi Narayan of PHM drop in.

The meeting discussed the issue formed a preliminary task force to take the work forward
     

Programme and Manual on the Inclusion of Disability in Disaster Response


The Jagatsinghpur district is one of the disaster prone areas of the state of Orissa, located in the coastal belt of the state. At the outset, the study was conducted to assess the need of the disabled. The study found the causes of vulnerability and the process of marginalisation of the disabled people. Based on the Feedback of the community and stakeholders from district and block level officials.

A training manual on disaster management for the disabled has being prepared. The manual is to be used by CBOs, DPOs and interested personnel. It provides the information needed for people to understand the various aspects of disability and how we can understand disabled people’s needs. Further the manual provides hands on training on 8 issues (in 8 modules) for instance on gender, accessibility, livelihood identification, existing Conventions, laws and rules on the issues of disability and disaster response. Handling trauma is part of this manual, but there is also a separate manual, which looks at both aspects of physical and psychological trauma.

This year long programme which produced the manual, carried out training and the standard workshop in Mumbai was supported by Dan Church
 
National Workshop on Persons with Disabilities
 
The objective of the workshop was to focus on different ground level and policy issues those affect the life and livelihood of the disabled people. Presentations were made on the issues like Self employment, Issuance of Disability Certificate, Inclusive Education, Vocationalising Growth in Livelihood for rural areas of Orissa, Role of Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan (SSA) in Orissa, Census 2001 for Persons with disabilities and inclusion of disability in disaster response.

There were 102 participants in the workshop. They were from the people and organizations working in the field of disability. Experts and senior level Govt officials who also added their opinions in the perspective of the disabled.

Kanhubhai Tailor, President, Disabled Welfare Trust of India, (Gujrat) Surat introduced the organisation, which is working for the self-employment of disabled people by establishing Prime Cooperative Bank in 1996. The bank provides loan for the self- employment. He stated that finance is not real constraint for the (NGOs) who are actually working for the development of these physically or mentally challenge people. Emphasis should be given on the individual beneficiary for self- appointment. He offered an opportunity for the PWDs of Orissa to get finance from Disabled Welfare Trust of India (DWTI) without any documentary complications.

Different Camps were organized at the Centre from distribution of mobility aids, corrective surgery and fitting and supply of P & O devices. Among the prominent voluntary organization was the Red Swastik from Mumbai, the Hindustan Petroleum, The Rotary Club North and Lioness Club of Bhubaneswar.

 
CAMPS
 
333 Beneficiaries received services and items like wheelchairs, tricycles, O & P devices, surgical intervention, post operative care, medicines to blankets to complete health checkup.

At a Health checkup camp at the center where 150 clients were given medicines. 28 disabled children and adults were benefited.

On 12th December a camp was organized with the support of Rotary Club North where 183 disabled were medically checked and corrective surgery for 32 children were carried out with the assistance of experts from NIRTAR at the Kalinga Hospital.

Hindustan Petroleum (HP Gas) set up a community kitchen. They also gifted some mobility aids to the disabled clients distributed by their DGM from Kolkata, West Bengal.

 
Human Resource and Manpower Development Programme
 
The center is recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), an autonomous Govt. of India institution to conduct its professional courses. During 2005 the center has conducted 4 batches of 3 months “Foundation course in education of children with disabilities” under the MP Bhoj Open University recognized by Rehabilitation Council of India.

Two CRE courses of Rehabilitation Council of India to upgrade the knowledge & skills of in service and practicing Rehabilitation professionals and personals. The courses conducted were as follows:

  • Community Based Rehabilitation and Independent Living Skills on 13th – 17th December 2004
  • Vocational Training and Placement on 15th – 19th March 2005