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Empowered LCD South Asia's News Letter, October - December 2008, Volume 4, No. 3
Dear Reader,
I would, before anything else, like to thank you for your inputs and suggestions which have greatly helped us build a wider readership base than before.
With the closing of the financial term, there is much clutter of paperwork at this time of the year. However, there is much to share as you will see in the following pages. Having started the year on spirited heels, we are making good progress, finding newer areas of work and opportunities to express our mission.
In this issue, we have highlighted the case of earthquake affected district of Manshera (North West Frontier Province, Pakistan) as 'best practice'. With over 313 beneficiaries across 20 villages, the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) - set up by Leonard Cheshire Disability in partnership with Community Appraisal and Motivation Program (CAMP) - is already the foremost disability-related organization in the region.
Originally for work, I have visited India very regularly during the last twenty years, and gained the strong impression that people with disabilities have a much harder time there than in Britain. And this is not just a question of money. Even in a booming city such as Bangalore in the south, a highly competitive society means that many people have a hard life, such as can hardly be imagined by us here.
All over the world, the role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in imparting education to disabled children cannot be undermined. In India, both the government and the NGOs work in close partnership to facilitate Inclusive Education. The NGOs are actively involved in creating awareness, mobilising resources, encouraging community participation and in-actual delivery of support and services to disabled children.
LEGAL COMPLIANCE
It is essential for Non Government Organisations (NGOs) to be transparent and accountable while dealing with funds received from the government and donor agencies. Here is a checklist of various legal formalities that NGOs (especially those based in India) should follow to achieve total transparency and accountability.
Supporting People with Disabilities in the earthquake affected district of Mansehra, Pakistan (North West Frontier Province)
Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) is working to support children and persons with disabilities affected in the devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. The earthquake left around 87,000 people dead, 2.8 million without shelter and over a million without any income. Many people were also disabled in the disaster.
“No one used to care for us, but today, we are financially independent and respected in the society” says Shiv Prasad, a member of Jagriti SHG in Mograram village of Sehore district. This change began in April 2008, when staff from ARUSHI, a disability programme supported by Leonard Cheshire Disability, visited the village and conducted an awareness programme on disability rights. 15 disabled people attended the programme, where, the concept of a self help group (SHG) was introduced and the activities of an SHG were explained. Following the programme, six disabled people came forward to form a SHG.
In this quarter, SARO hosted an International Conference on Disability in the Commonwealth Asia. Details of this conference and some other key highlights are given below -
To demonstrate interventions taken up by LCD-South Asia Office and the impact of their work, we are regularly tracking the case story of “Esar Uddin and his family”. This family has been identified by a SARO supported programme in Bangladesh.