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A person with physical disability casts his vote at the first Indonesian direct presidential election
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USAID believes that it is of vital importance to
identify local partners and build long-term relationships that
will help us achieve U.S. foreign policy and assistance objectives
of promoting democracy, human rights, and development for all.
Therefore, USAID, in collaboration with
its local missions, identifies local partners and provides them with the
means to build DPO capacity, increase the political participation of
persons with disabilities, and promote and protect the rights of people
with disabilities.
Learn more about USAID's disability programs in
Albania
USAID's program in Albania, implemented by the Albania Disability Rights Foundation,
focuses on promoting and protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities (PWD)
by facilitating the implementation of a disability policy and a legal framework, and by
developing an instrument for their ongoing monitoring.
The project seeks to
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Improve the understanding and attitudes of relevant governmental and
nongovernmental agencies and policy-makers through the promotion of the National Disability
Strategy (NDS) at national and local levels
- Increase the capacities of disabled people’s
organizations (DPOs) and relevant stakeholders, through training and technical expertise
and consultancy by national, regional, and international disability
professionals
- Increase responsibility and accountability by developing annual monitoring/shadow
reports as an instrument available for consistent monitoring of the
implementation of NDS
- Develop
extended networks to advance and mainstream disability in other
advocacy and reform agendas
challenging exclusion and fragmentary intervention and promoting an
all-inclusive society
Bulgaria
Managed by Health for Everyone Foundation, Pleven, USAID's disability program
in Bulgaria seeks to create job opportunities for people with disabilities.
The project plans to establish twelve social enterprises that offer jobs
and skill development in collaboration with local businesses.
In addition, a social network consisting of twenty-eight regional partners
will be established with disabled persons organizations (DPO), local government,
and business.
Through four training centers, 1,000 people with disabilities per year
will receive job-skills training and placement services.
Through these programs, the project will improve the capacity of the DPOs
involved.
Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS)
The Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) is implementing
the Enfranchising Persons with Disability in Electoral and Political Process program.
CEPPS consists of, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI),
The International Republican Institute (IRI), and IFES.
The CEPPS program will focus on efforts to reverse the political marginalization of
citizens with disabilities. Citizens with disability in nearly every country are
invisible to political and governmental decision makers. As a result, the laws crafted by
elected leaders, and the policies and programs designed by government ministries,
rarely take their needs into account. To address this issue, citizens with disabilities
need to be more visible in election events, and in the political arenas they establish.
Over the coming twenty months, CEPPS partners will work in concert in four countries—Nicaragua, Armenia, Albania and Sierra Leone—to advance the political and electoral
participation of citizens with disabilities.These four countries were chosen because each has
- an electoral event within the next twenty months
- viable disability organizations capable of coordinating community action
- faced a conflict or crisis that has caused disability and directly and negatively
impacted the lives of its citizens with disabilities
Further, the CEPPS partners are presently active in all four nations.
Ecuador
For this USAID-funded project, five National Disabilities Federations,
comprising a total of 166 associations of people with disabilities throughout the
country, are working together to promote political and labor rights for people with disabilities.
The project seeks to
contribute to the practice and enforcement of rights of people with disabilities in
Ecuador by promoting political participation and job placement.
Specifically, the
project works to
- Promote the participation in elections of citizens with people with disabilities
through public awareness campaigns, greater access to polling stations, and transportation
to the polls
- Implement a job placement service (Servicio de Integración Laboral [SIL]) for
people with disabilities
Georgia
Through a
partnership between Save the Children and the Georgian Coalition for Independent Living,
this project will engage people with disabilities in Georgia and bring to bear
international expertise, using best practices that have demonstrated tangible
results in empowering disabled persons organizations.
The project will work to strengthen national, regional, and local associations and
establish relationships with government bodies.
People with disabilities will be active participants in this process.
In addition, the project will produce four videos on elections and accessibility.
Ghana
In Ghana, USAID works with the
Ghana Center for Democratic Developments to build the capacity of
disabled persons organizations (DPO),
increasing the political participation of people with disabilities,
and promoting and protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
The project will seek to develop the capacity of these organizations
through workshops for DPOs. Training will be offered on a
variety of subjects including group development, advocacy and lobbying, fundraising,
understanding and becoming involved in the electoral process, and assertiveness
training and confidence building (especially for women).
The program will also increase the participation of people with disabilities in
local elections by monitoring and drawing attention to constraints that
limit their participation. The program makes a strong commitment to ensure that people with
disabilities will contend for positions in the District Assemblies and Unit Committees.
Indonesia
Under the Opportunities for Vulnerable Children (OVC) program, USAID/Indonesia, in partnership
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Caca (pronounced Chacha), who is blind, learns
Braille at the USAID-funded Early Intervention Center, part of the Opportunities for Vulnerable Children
Program implemented by HKI |
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with
Helen Keller International and a large group of other international and Indonesian organizations, is
implementing activities to provide assistance to – and advocate for – children with various disabilities
including children who are blind or have low vision, children who are deaf or have low hearing, autism,
learning disabilities and multiple disabilities. The OVC program is developing a viable model to provide
education opportunities for these children. The program includes successful identification, assessment, and
enrollment of children with disabilities into the public school system; early intervention programs; resource
networks for children with disabilities and their teachers; training for public school teachers and principals;
public advocacy; and acceptance, endorsement, and support from the Ministry of National Education.
The objective of OVC is to create a sustainable, effective model for inclusion of students with various
disabilities within the public education infrastructure. This is being accomplished by leveraging resources,
advocating for policy change, and implementing these new policies. To date, these activities have led to a
substantial increase in the number of children with disabilities attending school, coupled with increased
availability and improved quality of inclusive education services.
A cross sector of individuals representing a variety of disabilities are involved with all aspects of the
OVC program. They provide input on curriculum and learning materials and offer counseling and support. They
are members of the policy task force for inclusive education in Jakarta and are key players in assessing
students with who are blind or have low vision. OVC depends on the direct participation of many professionals
who are blind and/or deaf as well as professionals with various levels of visual and/or hearing related
disabilities whose input and expertise are vital to the program’s objectives. USAID funds one full-time OVC
trainer who is blind.
Persons with physical and intellectual disabilities also receive substantive consideration when
USAID/Indonesia’s other programs are implemented. The Tsunami Recovery and Reconstruction program’s West
Coast Highway project is ensuring that bridge sidewalks and approaches to all bridges are wheel-chair
friendly. The Democracy and Governance Program will assist disability groups with developing effective
electoral rights strategies for the 2009 Presidential elections and is also implementing livelihood and
small-scale economic development projects such as providing support for farmers and fisherman—some of
whom have a physically disability.
Jordan
Handicap International implements USAID's program in Jordan with the aim of
establishing a comprehensive local network of disabled persons organizations (DPO)
that work to promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities.
This network will serve as a model for the rest of the country.
In addition to training and equipping DPOs to advocate effectively and be involved in the
decision-making process on behalf of their communities, local authorities will be
trained and equipped with relevant information and skills to prepare a disabilities
policy to introduce into their routine procedures. Local partners will also receive
assistance to design and implement a cycle of small grants that address issues of inclusion
and accessibility for persons with disabilities in local communities,
targeting infrastructure, and information campaigns.
Kazakhstan
The USAID-funded program,
Promoting the Rights of Individuals with Disabilities,
implemented by
Counterpart International, comprises four core programmatic components:
- Organizational development training and mentoring for disabled persons organizations (DPO) based on
Counterpart’s newly created pre-certification methodology
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Advanced advocacy training and technical assistance to DPOs
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Regional and international DPO and government networking and public hearings
- Partnership, advocacy campaign and social enterprise grants
Counterpart’s implementing partner for this program will be the nationwide Civil
Society Support Center Network Association (ARGO) in Kazakhstan. Counterpart will
also work with a variety of DPOs from the United States, Europe, and the Soviet Union
as resource partners through their partnership grant program.
Mobility International USA (MIUSA)
USAID’s Building an Inclusive Development Community project is implemented by
Mobility International USA (MIUSA). The project seeks to increase the participation
by people with disabilities, including women and girls, in U.S.-based international
development programs as participants, agents, administrators, and consultants.
The project focuses on strengthening USAID mission responses and local disabled
person organization’s capacity to work to reduce the barriers that people with
disabilities encounter in participating in civic, social, and employment activities.
Niger/Burkina Faso
This project, implemented by Handicap International, will focus on strengthening
existing DPOs in both Niger and Burkina Faso. Upon completion of the training
programs for DPOs, Handicap International will administer twelve sub-grants to DPOs.
Additional sub-grants will be available for DPOs to implement cultural and sporting events.
Each organization must match 50 percent of the grant awarded.
Paraguay
The Information Center and Development Resources program (Centro de Informacion y Recursos para el Desarrollo [CIRD])
aims to
increase people with disabilities' participation in government processes by inviting DPOs to compete in a
bidding process for sub-grants under the People with Disabilities Initiatives Program.
The program is directed at facilitating lead actions by a coalition of DPOs that can mobilize
people to improve people with disabilities’ participation in the decision-making process
and oversight of governmental programs.
Community Service Organizations (CSOs) and
DPOs with national coverage will participate as providers of technical assistance and
as sources of experience and best practices. Moreover, the program will support
decentralization by applying geographic distribution of institutional capacity-building
services to DPOs.
Russia
Perspektiva, together with eleven regional members of the “Education for All” Coalition,
will implement a program to ensure educational equality for Russian youth and children.
The program will be undertaken in twelve communities of Russia by Disability Advocacy Teams.
The program seeks to:
- Strengthen the capacity of the Education for All Coalition to effectively advocate,
promote, and implement inclusive education practices locally and at the national level
- Promote positive images of disabled people in twelve communities to break down
barriers and negative attitudes toward implementing inclusive schools
- Increase the ability of parents and disabled people locally and nationally to
advocate for the rights of disabled children and youths to an equal education and
for the rights of people with disabilities in general
Technical Assistance
The Investing in Women in Development (IWID)
fellowship program, managed through the Institute for International Education
(IIE), was developed with the intention of working with USAID bureaus,
offices, and missions to increase participation of people with
disabilities in field-based programs, as well as to assess and report on
USAID’s compliance with its disability policy, in particular AAPD 05-07
and AAPD 04-17.
Zimbabwe
The National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped's (NASCOH) program has
a three-pronged approach to engage
- The disability sector to build the capacity of the
Disabled People’s Organizations to fight for their own rights
- Governmental institutions working on human rights
and disability issues—including parliament, the National Disability Board, and
line ministries—in dialogue toward the inclusion of disability
in policies, legislation, and implementation of the policies
- The Zimbabwean general public through the use of the media
(both print and electronic) to promote awareness on disability issues and
visibility of the rights of people with disabilities.
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