Khadidja is a 27-year-old entrepreneur living in Chad. With a boost from Humanity & Inclusion’s economic inclusion initiative, she opened her own business.

When she was 2, Khadidja fell off of a donkey in her village and was seriously injured. Ever since, her right leg muscles have been weak, requiring her to wear an orthopedic brace for support.

“As they could not treat me there, my family took me to N'Djamena,” she recalls. “The doctors here told me that I had to be treated in France but we couldn't afford it. Later, my family was able to buy a prosthesis.”

When Khadidja’s brace broke, an acquaintance suggested she reach out to Humanity & Inclusion. Since 2018, she’s been participating in Humanity & Inclusion activities in Chad. Teams repaired her brace and she received an income-generating activities grant. The single mother of two was able to launch her own business.

“Thanks to HI’s help, I set up my small business selling cereals. Now I have enough food every day,” Khadidja explains. “I make numerous orders, which helps me to live and pay for my health care and my children's school.”

With money she saved from her work, Khadidja was also able to purchase a sewing machine to start a small sewing workshop for extra income.

Khadidja's newfound autonomy is helping her plan for the future.

"Since my business is doing well, I would like to expand my activities and buy a motorized tricycle to make it easier for me to get around and collect the goods I sell,” she says. “I would also like to build an extra room to better accommodate my children.”

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Through a project called Forward Together, Humanity & Inclusion is addressing a challenge that young people with disabilities face every day: unemployment.

Forward Together is an inclusive employment and livelihood project led by Humanity & Inclusion in the Philippines and Indonesia. Throughout a successful three-year pilot phase, teams learned how to become more efficient, while supporting 380 young people with disabilities and more than 50 companies to be more inclusive of workers with disabilities. The project is now being relaunched in the Philippines and Indonesia, and will later arrive in Vietnam.

The project empowers people between the ages of 18 and 45 with disabilities, by increasing their access to decent employment.

The approach is two-fold: Forward Together engages companies who want to hire youth with disabilities, then supports young people with disabilities in accessing jobs. This is done through personalized coaching to ensure prospective workers develop the skills needed to enter the workforce or start their own business. Humanity & Inclusion teams also provide technical assistance to employers to prepare them to recruit, retain and provide professional development opportunities for employees with disabilities.

Fighting systemic exclusion

The systemic exclusion of persons with disabilities, especially in the workplace, is one of the forms of social prejudice that youth with disabilities experience regularly. This situation worsened during the Covid-19 period during which young people with disabilities became more marginalized than ever.

In the Philippines, for example, even with a formal degree, a person who is blind will generally not have access to training or a profession that matches their skill level. In fact, the only common profession available to people with visual disabilities is massage therapy.

‘Young people often have skills and commitment that could get them a good job or position,” says Twyla David, Humanity & Inclusion’s Forward Together coordinator, who helped launch the project in 2018. “At HI, we're working to ensure that they can access decent, productive employment."

Centering skills and passions

Young people participating in Forward Together can choose between self-employment or being hired by an employer. Humanity & Inclusion provides personalized support, including assistance devices such as special screens or glasses, mobility aids, coaching sessions, as well as allowances to support them financially until they receive their first paycheck. Even after landing a job, Humanity & Inclusion conducts home visits, provides ongoing job coaching and organizes peer support groups for project participants.

“They have to be of working age with basic literacy, a satisfactory level of autonomy and ability, and with adequate support from their families,” David explains. “We use the personalized social support approach; we try to bring their skills and passions to the forefront. We want to help them to work where they feel safe, productive and valued.”

She shares the story of Kyenna (pictured), a 26-year-old who is an advocate for the Deaf community.

“Kyenna has a hearing disability and communicates through sign language,” David says. “She specializes in video editing, special effects, digital illustration and layout. HI has been supporting Kyenna in the pursuit of her professional goals through coaching, training, and job preparation such as mock interviews.”

Now, Kyenna is pursuing a career in visual graphic design in Manila.

A community effort

While each participant is at the heart of the project, stakeholders are also important. Humanity & Inclusion works together with a pool of young jobseekers, companies of all sizes, public employment offices, technical schools and professional institutions.

David explains that the goal of the project is for the job market to become “disability-Inclusive, sustainable, and community-based.”

Humanity & Inclusion works alongside companies to strengthen their capacity to hire people with disabilities and protect their rights in the work place. Teams provide businesses with technical support and training sessions on disability awareness, inclusive hiring and talent acquisition. The project also supports companies in drafting inclusive business continuity plans and inclusive disaster risk management for their offices.

“It does not matter to us if the company has experience hiring persons with disabilities or not,” David says. “The most important is their readiness to do so. We help them with the most difficult step in achieving inclusive employment: getting started.”

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From clearing explosive weapons to helping entrepreneurs launch their own businesses to assisting people with disabilities and mine victims, Humanity & Inclusion has stepped up its actions in northern Chad since 2017.

Rachel Datché, 33, was traveling to see her sister when she stepped on an anti-personnel mine in Fada. After her right leg was amputated, she received an artificial limb and post-surgical care at the orthopedic and rehabilitation center in Kabalaye in 2020. Rachel (pictured above) is one of the participants in PRODECO, a vast development program coordinated by Humanity & Inclusion in consortium with three other NGOs. The four-year project to help restore the economic sustainability of the local population will wrap at the end of 2021.

“This wide-reaching program includes mine clearance operations, risk prevention, victim assistance, rehabilitation and economic assistance,” explains Jean-Michel Mathiam, who manages Humanity & Inclusion’s actions in northern Chad.

Legacy of war

The Borku and Ennedi regions were ravaged by civil war and conflict with neighboring Libya in the 1980s, leaving land contaminated by anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. Humanity & Inclusion recently completed its mine clearance operations in northern Chad, which helps people living in rural and agricultural areas earn a living by ensuring the roads leading to their villages are clear of mines.

In Faya and Kirdimi, more than 740 acres of land have been decontaminated through weapons clearance operations. More than 1,000 mines were destroyed by 120 deminers coordinated by Humanity & Inclusion and Mine Advisory Group MAG.

Teams also tested a drone mine detection system. The technology will revolutionize mine clearance operations worldwide.

Supporting small businesses

Since Oreike Bandy’s divorce four years ago, the 38-year-old mother has struggled to feed her family by selling bread at a market in Fada. She’s one of more than 1,000 people who have received a financial boost through a social fund to start her own business and become financially independent.

“I joined the village savings and loan organization [AVEC] and put aside some of my earnings each week to invest in the AVEC. This enables me to renew my stock of food products,” Oreike, pictured above, explains.

Ache Guene, 38, lost her husband four years ago and was suddenly faced with the difficult task of raising their five children alone. With help from Humanity & Inclusion, she also set up her own business and lifted her family out of poverty.

Maimouna Abass, a 30-year-old widow and mother of two children, now runs her own market stall in Fada, where she sells biscuits to earn a living.

"My life has changed. I can reinvest my profits in my business,” she says.

PRODECO project

In 2017, Humanity & Inclusion launched a large-scale development program called PRODECO in partnership with three other NGOs: Mine Advisory Group (MAG), the Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD), and Secours catholique et développement (SECADEV). Humanity & Inclusion recently completed its mine clearance operations in northern Chad. The organization will continue identifying people with disabilities, primarily victims of mines or explosive remnants of war, in villages and communities to participate in the project through 2021.

A year after the August 4, 2020, explosion in Beirut, Nahed Mansour, Humanity & Inclusion’s Livelihood Project Manager in Lebanon, recounts the events of that tragic day and its lingering impact on the city.

Q: What do you remember from August 4, 2020?

I remember the river of blood in the roads, the screams of the people, the broken windows and the collapsed buildings. I still remember how people supported and took care of each other. After the explosion, people from all over Lebanon went directly to Beirut to support the impacted families, even though there was a quarantine. I will never forget, one of volunteers was rescuing a woman who had a severe injury. She told him that she had Covid-19 and that he needed to stay away from her. But he said, “I don’t care, I won’t leave you dying,” and he carried her to the hospital in his arms.

Q: How would you define the period after the blast?

The blast feels like it was yesterday. Nothing has changed for those who lost their assets and loved ones, or suffered from permanent disabilities or had remarkable scars. These consequences are not easy to forget, especially without justice for what happened. People are frustrated because of the lack of means for support and the ongoing crisis.

Q: How do you think Beirut has changed over the past year?

Before the explosion, a multi-faceted crisis composed of socio-economic and health dimensions had begun. The Lebanese people were resistant, they held onto the hope that things would improve and that change would come and rescue the country.

However, when the blast took place, the resulting damage was enough to destroy this dream and take away that hope. With the remarkable, unforgettable scars and memories caused by the blast, people gave up. Many decided to close their businesses and relocate to build a better future for their children. The vibrant city turned into a city of shadows. The Lebanese people are known to be citizens who love life and are very resilient, but I think that the blast was one contributing factor that destroyed Beirut’s nightlife, festivals, joy and safety.

Q: What do you see as the greatest need today, a year after the explosion? 

In my role as Livelihood Project Manager, I believe that the greatest need today is to implement livelihood projects that will support the citizens to recover and restore their businesses, to build their economic resilience. The project will help to recover the city and the markets and reignite the hope to live and invest in Lebanon.

Q: How has the tragedy impacted you?

I am not okay. I just want life to go back to normal. I want to see the vibrant Beirut. I want to see people smile. So, to put it simply, I am not okay. Yet I feel that I should be part of the change, I have to support others. We need to stand together and rebuild Beirut and all of Lebanon. We need to keep hope and stay strong to save Lebanon.

Humanity & Inclusion’s response the August 4 explosion

Humanity & Inclusion and its partners provided door-to-door psychosocial outreach to 2,711 people in areas affected by the blast. Those individuals also were provided with information on Covid-19 prevention and safeguarding. As part of the outreach, teams identified the needs and priorities of impacted people, then referred them to the appropriate services internally or to external resources.

690 people benefited from comprehensive rehabilitation services, among them:

• 395 people received physical, occupational and/or speech therapy
• 190 people received mental health rehabilitation
• 261 caregivers received functional training to assist their loved ones with rehabilitation at home
• 360 people received assistive devices, wound kits and other items to assist in recovery

1,003 people were referred to external services, primarily for cash, food, shelter and medical assistance

1,396 households received hygiene and dignity kits

14 people received trauma therapy sessions

With Humanity & Inclusion’s support, Dicko installs and repairs solar panels to support his family.

Finding paid work is difficult as a young adult in Mali, where the youth unemployment rate is as high as 32% in certain regions.

The challenge of entering the workforce is only exacerbated by unrest in the country. Mali is under threat from a rise in crime, the use of improvised explosive devices and the presence of armed groups that use extreme violence. Such dangerous variables have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. On top of that, a climate crisis causing intense flooding and droughts. As a result, almost 7 million people need humanitarian assistance.

In 2018, Humanity & Inclusion began working with young people, helping them obtain the qualifications and financial support needed to earn a living. Dicko is one of them.

A young father and experienced electrician, Dicko is realizing his ambitions with the help Humanity & Inclusion. Like many young entrepreneurs in Mali, Dicko is launching businesses that will have a positive environmental impact.

“I wanted to grow my business, but I wasn’t able to take on larger jobs because I couldn’t finance all the (startup) materials needed,” Dicko explains. “After presenting my business plan to Humanity & Inclusion, I received training in how to install and repair solar panels as well as a grant to buy equipment.”

Humanity & Inclusion has already helped 50 young Malians find employment in the solar energy sector. By the end of 2021, 3,000 young people like Dicko will have accessed the training and resources they need to work toward a stable and sustainable future.

“Specializing in solar energy means I have unique skills,” Dicko says. “I want to help market solar energy materials and equipment in Mali and convince people to invest in solar products. My dream would be to employ others in my business to help fight unemployment in my region.”

Image: A young man named Dicko squats beside a solar panel on a rooftop in Mali. He is holding a roll of tape and there are tools beside him. Copyright: HI

The COVID-19 crisis hasn’t stopped Humanity & Inclusion from providing personalized care for people with disabilities.  

Danwell P. Esperas full-time job is helping people with disabilities find gainful employment opportunities, something that often proves difficult due to discrimination, inaccessibility or stigma. But his work doesn’t stop there. As a personalized social support officer for Humanity & Inclusion, Danwell provides tailored follow-up care for people in Valenzuela, a city near Manila in the Philippines, helping them access community resources and take care of their mental, physical and economic wellbeing.

Danwell works under Humanity & Inclusion’s Forward Together Project: Empowering Youth with Disabilities in Asia, which aims to help people between 18 and 40 with disabilities access meaningful employment in Manila, Philippines and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Preparing people with disabilities for the workforce

Danwell, a registered nurse by profession but a development working by heart, provides personalized social support that empowers project participants to learn more about themselves, improve their skills, access employment opportunities, and reach their life goals.

In May 2019, Danwell met a man who is deaf, with aspirations to work for a manufacturing company. Starting with an initial assessment, Danwell guided the man in creating a personalized action plan and provided advice on writing a resume and giving a successful job interview. After two weeks of coaching sessions, the participant landed a job, where he was also able to teach his co-workers the basics of Filipino sign language.

Covid-19 presents unique challenges

Unfortunately, like so many people around the world, Covid-19 pandemic plunged the man into a new and serious economic crisis. He lost his job, but Danwell continued to support him by providing sessions to cope with the trauma and information on accessing assistance from different government agencies. 

He is just one of the project participants who Danwell has continued to coach amid the pandemic through remote sessions on Covid-19 prevention and awareness, stress management, the importance of self-care, and how to access financial assistance and goods being provided by the government. Humanity & Inclusion’s Forward Together project also adapted its strategies to Covid-19 by providing cash transfers to project participants so they can afford basic needs like housing, food and medicine.

Image: Danwell P. Esperas is a personalized social support officer for Humanity & Inclusion in the Philippines. He meets with participants in the Forward Together project, which works to connect people with disabilities to gainful employment. Copyright: HI

Supporting Political Participation, Citizenship and Access to Justice in Our Projects (2022)

This policy paper defines Humanity & Inclusion’s approach regarding political participation, citizenship, and access to justice, as well as to structure projects focused on these concepts and to accompany the staff implementing them. These themes are essential to the recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities. Download the policy paper in English or French.

Let's break silos now! Achieving disability-inclusive education in a post-COVID world

A world where inclusive education can flourish is also a world that can nurture inclusive societies. Working towards this vision is critical for reducing the vast levels of inequality and discrimination currently faced by millions of persons across the globe. This is especially so for the millions of children with disabilities, many of whom struggle to receive even the most basic of educations. Global progress in building inclusive education systems is now threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely disrupted the educations of most children, and has seen funds diverted away from the education sector. Despite this setback, governments and the global community are now in a unique position to learn from the pandemic and to renew efforts to improve education. Download Humanity & Inclusion's report on inclusive education in a post-pandemic context.

A principled and inclusive response to COVID-19, focused on the most vulnerable

As of now, the response to the COVID-19 crisis has been mainly national. High income countries facing the health crisis on their territory have so far limited consideration for the global impact, especially the impact of the crisis on developing countries with limited resources and fragile health systems. Download Humanity & Inclusion's policy paper which includes a summary of our main concerns and recommendations for an inclusive response to COVID-19.

Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2019)

Developed by Humanity & Inclusion, the International Disability Alliance (IDA), and UNICEF, the Guidelines assist humanitarian actors, governments and affected communities to coordinate, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate essential actions for the full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all sectors and in all phases of humanitarian action. Download the Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.

Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities (2018)

Developed by the Age and Disability Capacity Program (ADCAP), the inclusion standards will help organizations responding to crises to successfully identify and reach those most at risk, upholding the humanitarian principles by which they all must abide. Humanitarian organizations are committed to providing assistance and protection solely based on need and without discrimination. Yet older people and people with disabilities are routinely excluded from humanitarian responses, despite being among the most vulnerable. The Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities provide guidance across all areas and at all stages of emergency response to ensure older people and people with disabilities are not left out. Download the humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities.

Good for Business: Promoting Partnerships to Employ People with Disabilities (2017)

Written in conjunction with Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD), this white paper provides practical information and lessons learned on how multinational corporations can fully include people with disabilities into the workplace. Building off of information provided in HI’s 2016 white paper, Situation of Wage Employment of People with Disabilities: Ten Developing Countries in Focus, this paper offers six steps for companies to follow to ensure they're ready to welcome more colleagues with disability.

The paper explains how partnerships between businesses and NGOs are becoming more frequent as multinational companies stretch into new, middle-income markets. Together, they're collaborating to successfully recruit, hire and retain people with disabilities. This access to meaningful, waged labor helps to chip away at the unfortunate statistic that less than 20% of people with disabilities are working worldwide . Case studies from HI and LCD projects in North Africa, West Africa, South Asia, East Asia and South Africa are highlighted. View the report here.

Situation of wage employment of people with disabilities: Ten developing countries in focus (2016)

The white paper is based on the results of a qualitative study of Humanity & Inclusion's inclusive livelihoods programs in 10 developing countries. The paper's goal is to increase wage employment of people with disabilities by providing employers with the best practices showcasing successful wage employment facilitated by Humanity & Inclusion and partner businesses, enterprises, and organizations. View the report here.

Pilot Testing of 3D Printing Technology (2017)

From January-October 2016, Humanity & Inclusion implemented a pilot testing of 3D printing technology for transtibial prosthesis in Togo, Madagascar and Syria. The aim of the study was to explore and test how physical rehabilitation services can be more accessible to people living in complex contexts via innovative technologies (such as 3D printing, treatment processes that use Internet technology, and tools) and decentralized services by bringing them closer to the patients. This scientific summary provides the context, the objectives, the methodology, the results of the study, and perspectives for the future.

Disability in Humanitarian Context (2015)

This report is based on the results of a global consultation carried out in 2015 as a contribution to the World Humanitarian Summit and is intended to better identify the changes needed for a disability-inclusive humanitarian response. A total of 769 responses were collected through 3 online surveys targeting persons with disabilities, disabled people's organizations and humanitarian actors.

The responses show that persons with disabilities are strongly impacted when a crisis occurs: 54% of respondents with disabilities state they have experienced a direct physical impact, sometimes causing new impairments. 27% report that they have been psychologically, physically or sexually abused. Increased psychological stress and/or disorientation are other effects of the crisis for 38% of the respondents with disabilities. View the report here. 

Out from the Shadows (2011)

Children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, an issue which is rarely talked about. This groundbreaking report by Humanity & Inclusion and Save the Children aims to shed some light on the problem. View report here.  

Inclusive Education (2012)

This policy paper describes Humanity & Inclusion’s mandate and values in operational terms as applied to to the theme of inclusive education. View report here and brief format here.

La représentation et l’évaluation du handicap en Haïti (2012)

A report on Haiti’s representation of disability. View report here and brief format here (In French).

Inclusive employment: How to develop projects which promote the employment of people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations (2011)

This paper applies the mandate and values of Humanity & Inclusion to inclusive employment activities. View report here and brief format here.

People with disabilities in the suburban areas of Maputo and Matola (2010)

This research publication provides an assessment of the socio-economic circumstances facing people with disabilities in two Mozambique cities. View report here.

Accessibility: how to design and promote an environment accessible to all? (2009)

This policy paper defines accessibility and presents the operational strategy of Humanity & Inclusion in this area. View report here.

Inclusive local development: how to implement a disability approach at local level (2009)

This is an action guide that presents approaches and reference tools in the field of inclusive local development. View report here.