Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

and knowledge. 87 Conversely, where these alreadyexist, segregated services can provide outreach tothe whole community. In India, for example, specialschools run by the Spastics Society were opened tochildren without a disability living in nearby deprivedurban areas. 88With regard to older children, in Belarus UNICEF hasworked with partners in providing children with disabilitieswith better care and opportunities for developmentand integration. Family support models ofcollaboration between NGOs, local authorities andpublic agencies were developed and implemented in18 regions of the country. Children and adolescentswere offered access to information and training in lifeand vocational skills. In all, more than 2,500 childrenand adolescents with disabilities benefited from thisproject. 89 In addition, almost 1,000 parents of childrenwith disabilities were given counselling and training tostrengthen their knowledge and skills to support themin providing their children with better care.Community-based rehabilitationA specific form of local support is community-basedrehabilitation (CBR) programmes that are designed andrun by local communities. CBR, which was first developedin the late 1970s and early 1980s by the WorldHealth Organization (WHO), is a “strategy which,within general community development, promotesrehabilitation, equalization of opportunities, povertyreduction and social inclusion for all children and adultswith disabilities at a local level.” The major objectiveof CBR is to ensure that persons with disabilities andtheir families enjoy access to regular services and opportunities.In this way, they become active membersof their communities and, equally, communities feel asense of ownership with regard to these projects. 90Community-based rehabilitation is implementedthrough the combined efforts of persons withdisabilities themselves and their families in theneighbourhood, along with the appropriate health,education, vocational and social services. Thepotential of CBR is fully realized when there is astrong culture of sharing information about goodpractice, and in providing evidence about coverage,quality of service, sustainability, comparability andcost effectiveness – a key characteristic of CBRprojects when they are well managed. 91Community-based rehabilitation can benefit everyonein the community. For example, when the communitymakes changes to facilitate access for persons with disabilities,it makes life easier for others who were not recognizedas having disabilities. If the community clearswalkways and makes them smooth for wheelchairs tomove easily, or for people with visual impairments towalk, then these walkways are also made easier forolder persons or those pushing carriages or carts. Additionally,CBR can serve as a stimulus for communityleaders and social groups to work together. 92Box 6.4 Using local resources to producelow-cost aids in Mexico and the PhilippinesProjimo (Program of Rehabilitation Organizedby Disabled Youth of Western Mexico) haspromoted community-based health andrehabilitation initiatives. i A programme runfrom the outset by and for persons withdisabilities, Projimo broke new ground in grassrootshealth and empowerment.Among Projimo’s many initiatives is its SkillsTraining and Work Programme that providesconstructive work opportunities. This includesthe Children’s Wheelchair Project in theSierra Madre mountains that produces lowcostwheelchairs customized to fit individualneeds. Using wood, metal, bicycle tyres andbasic designs, the project produces over 100individually designed wheelchairs each year.The demand for these wheelchairs is extremelyhigh, and the master wheelchair builder, whohas an impairment himself, receives requeststo train community-based craftworkers from allacross Mexico. The Netherlands-based StichtingLiliane Fonds helps to cover the cost of thewheelchairs for children from poor families. iiMost of the wheelchairs found in the Philippinesare donated from other countries. However,harsh road conditions in rural areas necessitatecustomized wheelchair production. In 1996,the National Federation of Disabled Persons(KAMPI), with support from the Departmentof Social Welfare and Development and afundraising organization associated with aJapanese newspaper, set up a training projectfor persons with disabilities who were interestedin making wheelchairs in their own communities.Within months, KAMPI affiliate organizationswere producing low-cost wheelchairs usingmaterials that can be purchased from any localbicycle store: frames made of steel tubes andwheels using bicycle tyres. Repairs are normallybe made by local welders or mechanics. KAMPIwheelchairs were found to be both sturdier andless costly than commercial wheelchairs.Sources:iUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission forAsia and the Pacific, ’Production and Distribution ofAssistive Devices for People with Disabilities: Part 1’,United Nations, New York, 1997, , accessed 17August 2007.iiProject Projimo, and , accessed 17 August 2007.Innocenti Digest No. 13Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities26