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Since 1996, HI has managed a physical rehabilitation center in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan. This center is the only one providing comprehensive services to people living with disabilities across the whole region. We visit the center with Rasool, the officer in charge of our activities in Kandahar province.

Sayed is a six-year-old boy from Afghanistan with an irresistible smile. When he was five, he was injured by an improvised mine – one of many victim-activated devices that regularly kill and maim people in Afghanistan. After Sayed’s left leg was amputated, he was immediately treated by Handicap International and he is steadily regaining his independence. We talked to him and his father, Mohammed, at Handicap International’s physical rehabilitation center in Kandahar.

For one year now Yemen has been torn apart by a conflict that has killed over 3,000 civilians. The humanitarian needs are immense. Since October 2015, Handicap International has been providing care for the injured. Over 1,200 people have already been helped by the organization.

The conflict that devestated the region of Casamance in southern Senegal for thirty years is now over. However, anti-personnel mines still pose a threat to civilians. Alongside its mine clearance operations, Handicap International is also working with its partner, ASVM (the Senegalese Association of Mine Victims), to inform and raise people's awareness of the dangers posed by mines. Over an eight-month period, awareness-raising sessions will be held in 60 schools and 65 villages.
 

In southern Senegal, landmines pose a clear and present danger. The violence that rocked Casamance for 30 years is now a distant memory, but the mines laid during the fighting, often on the edges of villages, continue to put people’s lives in danger.

Ala’a has been one of Handicap International’s social workers since April 2014. Based in Amman, she identifies the most vulnerable people and helps meet their needs. An industrial engineer by training, she explains why she chose to work with Handicap International.

Ahmad is eight years old. He was born with spina bifida, a condition where the spine does not develop properly, and which prevents him from walking. He arrived in the Azraq camp, northern Jordan, with his family in November 2015. To improve his quality of life and his mobility he is being supported by one of Handicap International’s teams*.

Handicap International's response to the Syria crisis, which began five years ago, has become the biggest humanitarian response in the organization's history. More than 600,000 people have been supported by our teams of physical therapists, orthopedic technicians, social workers, logistics officers and many others. Here, four of Handicap International's 370 strong team explain what their roles mean to them.

Abdel Rahman, 13, has muscular dystrophy. At the end of 2015, he and his family arrived in Azraq camp, Jordan, where he is being supported by a Handicap International team*. Abdel's physical therapy sessions are helping him adapt to life in the camp.

Dalal is seven-years-old. Born with cerebral palsy, which affects her speech and mobility, she arrived in Lebanon with her family in March 2012. Today, one of Handicap International’s teams has brought her a wheelchair so she can move around more easily. With help from Handicap International* and her family, Dalal was able to leave her family’s apartment for the first time in eighteen months.

Injured in an air strike, Bushra receives help from Handicap International’s team in one of several hospitals in Yemen where we provide support to victims of the conflict.

The Ubuntu Care¹ project combats sexual violence against children, particularly children with disabilities, in Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda. Launched in November 2012, it has already provided care and treatment to 600 child victims of sexual violence. Regional coordinator Sofia Hedjam describes the program and its achievements.

Abdallah, 11, was injured in a bombing raid in Syria. He is now paraplegic and lives with his mother, brothers and sisters in a shelter for refugees in Lebanon. Since he arrived in the Beqaa Valley in September 2015, he has been supported by a Handicap International team* who are helping him to gradually recover and meet the new challenges he is facing.

The fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and Libya’s descent into chaos has led to a proliferation of arms and an escalation in fighting between militia groups. In response, Handicap International is providing the population with risk education on firearms, mines and explosive remnants of war. Over the last four years, the organization has educated 120,000 people at greatest risk from these weapons, most of them children.