Disability Inclusive

Although science-based medicine is gaining momentum in Malawi, witchcraft remains a widespread means of healing ailments in remote villages.  Unfortunately, when the deaf adopt this traditional approach, they are often instructed to fill their ears with plant and other material, causing further damage.  Furthermore, the belief of being ‘under a curse’ instigates a negative social stigma toward those who are hard of hearing and consequently leaves them at a disadvantage socially and developmentally.

Deaf and hearing impaired children in the developing world are greatly disadvantaged.  The cost and maintenance of hearing aids is so high that most families cannot afford them, and must instead rely on an intermittent supply of donated devices and short-term ‘fitting teams’ from abroad.

Across the rugged terrain of Tajikistan there are scattered communities in great need.  Disability is stigmatized, medical facilities are overrun, the employment base is narrow and drinking water is in short supply. 

Approximately 80% of deaf Ugandans cannot read or write and 70% cannot count to 10.  In the past, few deaf children have been given the opportunity to go to school, and those who did usually sat uncomprehending and ignored.

There are an estimated 100 000 people living in the Philippines who are ‘hard of hearing’.  This means they can only understand words when spoken very loudly close to the ear and have severe difficulties if there are ambient noises.

In a country devastated by years of guerilla militia and political upheaval, the rights and opportunities of children with disabilities have fallen by the wayside on governmental agendas.  This school project assists hearing impaired children gain skills necessary for productive lives.

As is typical of most developing countries, the majority of deaf Filipino children are excluded from educational institutions because of economic, cultural or logistical barriers.  The choices for the poor are stark: they can either attend the local school where they are likely to fail unless concerted efforts are made to include them, or they can evade a formal education and accept little prospect of fulfilling a prosperous career.    

Much work has been done to standardise Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) so that the deaf across the whole nation can understand and communicate with one another, from Kisumu in the West to Mombasa in the East.  Now KSL is taught to an estimated 2 600 deaf children in 32 specialty primary schools.

As 15% of Pacific Islanders (1 million people) live with a disability, it is impossible for universal education and poverty reduction targets to be met without their inclusion.  In most of these countries, few people with disabilities attend school as children and even fewer can find stable employment as adults.  Not only are disabilities highly stigmatised, but affordable service provision is hard to come by.

In the remote foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, access to healthcare is extremely limited and specialised disability services are virtually non-existent.  An estimated 3 million Tanzanians have a disability, of which far too many are consequently excluded from mainstream schooling and employment. 

The disabled and homeless are amongst the most underprivileged people living below the poverty line in Nepal.  Unfortunately, a fatalistic attitude toward future employment and wellbeing is widespread, leading to internal despair and external exclusivity.

In a country where half of all households are clustered around the poverty line, the needs of the poor are many.  Labour is one of their few assets, but opportunity for employment is often limited by lack of education and cultural barriers.  If provided with the means of attaining a good job, they have the chance to earn their way out of poverty.

Cambodia’s wartime callouses have begun to heal over however much work remains to be done in building the capacity of orthotic services.  Whilst some government support has been reserved to fund prosthetics for victims of land mines, much less is on offer to those with debilitating diseases such as club foot, polio and cerebral palsy.

As in most developing nations, Sri Lankan society carries a certain degree of stigma toward the disabled, especially those with a congenital impediment or missing limb(s).  In spite of free public health services, the provision of prosthesis and orthotics for disadvantaged individuals does not attract any government funding but is instead heavily reliant on the non-profit sector.