In Pakistan, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International." 

MANDATE

Present in Pakistan since the early 1980s, Handicap International launched emergency responses following the country's 2005 earthquake and 2010 flooding. Teams are still working to improve the living conditions of those affected by natural disasters, especially people with disabilities. Today, our work focuses on natural disaster risk management and meeting the needs of people displaced by fighting in tribal areas in the northwest of the country. Handicap International currently employs 33 local staff members and three expatriate staff members in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND

Pakistan is increasingly and regularly hit by natural disasters. In 2005, an earthquake killed more than 70,000 people and displaced 3 million others from their homes. In 2010, unprecedented flooding affected more than 20 million people. Similar disasters occur every year; in 2014, nearly 3,500 villages were destroyed, affecting some two million people.

Armed conflict in northwest Pakistan is forcing civilians to flee conflict zones and take refuge in neighboring areas. According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, Pakistan is home to nearly 1 million refugees and more than 449,000 internally displaced people (IDPs). Displaced populations include children, women, older people, and people with disabilities, made even more vulnerable by these disasters, and often forced to live in deplorable sanitary conditions. As of July 2014, 929,000 people displaced from North Waziristan were recorded in neighboring districts; 43% were children, 30% were women, and 23% were disabled.

ACTIONS

• Natural disaster risk management
• Community-based rehabilitation
• Growing Together project

Natural Disaster Risk Management 

Handicap International is working with the population of Sindh province, where there is a high risk of flooding, to identify solutions to mitigate the risks and consequences of climate-related disasters. Communities are encouraged to perform their own natural disaster risk evaluations and implement evacuation plans that include people with disabilities, and preventive measures such as alert systems and food stockpiling. In developing this project, Handicap International encourages the active participation of people with disabilities of all kinds and seeks to build solidarity between different communities. 

Community-based rehabilitation

Handicap International works to ensure the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities by training people within the Khyber Pakhtybkhwa province to provide services for individuals with disabilities. These trainings include information on disability, rehabilitation, and awareness raising. The project directly benefits 2,150 people and indirectly impacts 129,500 displaced families and host families in the region. 

Growing Together Project

Children with disabilities remain one of the most marginalized groups in the country and very few attend school. As an invisible and stigmatized group, they are more exposed to abuse, exploitation, and negligence. Since 2016 and for a period of four years, the organization’s Growing Together project, supported by IKEA Foundation, will develop accessible and secure play areas for children in refugee camps in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. This project will enable 13,000 children with and without disabilities to play, learn and grow up together in a secure and inclusive environment.

MANDATE

Humanity & Inclusion has been supplying relief to Syrian refugees in Jordan since the summer of 2012 with a special emphasis on helping those with disabilities and serious injuries. Operating in the country since 2006, Humanity & Inclusion also runs several other projects on disability rights in Jordan. As a result of the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict in Syria, our organization has also rolled out emergency projects for refugees and host populations. Humanity & Inclusion currently employs 60 national and two expatriate staff. 

BACKGROUND

Since the start of the crisis in Syria, Jordan has been flooded with more than 721,000 Syrian, Iraqi, Somali, Sudanese, and Yemeni refugees, according to UNHCR. Many arrive having suffered from grievous injuries and mental trauma. Most refugees have little or no resources, placing a tremendous burden on the host communities and the Jordanian government. More than 100,000 refugees are housed between Za'atari and Azraq camps. The rest live scattered in small rented apartments, shared and makeshift shelters, or unoccupied houses, making it very challenging for humanitarian actors to deliver aid and services. 

In April 2014, a survey conducted in Lebanon and Jordan by Humanity & Inclusion, working in collaboration with HelpAge International, found that 5.7% of refugees, more than 90,000 people, had serious injuries. Moreover, in three out of four cases these injuries will lead to a permanent disability due to their severity and the lack of medical attention. To read this report, click here.

ACTIONS

• Rehabilitation
• Child Health 
• Supporting Refugees
• Inclusion

Rehabilitation

Fixed and mobile disability teams provide injured and disabled refugees with physical therapy, mobility devices, orthotic braces, and prosthetic limbs, and psychosocial support. Humanity & Inclusion operates a rehabilitation center in North-West Jordan and helps hospitals and clinics care for injured refugees by supplying rehabilitation equipment and organizing physical therapy sessions for patients. Staff provide physical therapy to people who have had limbs amputated and need to learn to use artificial limbs, as well as people with injuries such as complex fractures that could result in a permanent disability due to prolonged periods of inactivity.

Child Health 

Humanity & Inclusion works directly with children with disabilities and their families in Zarqa and Jerash to ensure these children reach their full potential. The organization works to gather information on current early detection and intervention practices in Jordan while providing quality services to children and their families. By training service providers and consolidating current practices, Humanity & Inclusion is promoting effective and sustainable early detection and early intervention practices at the national level.  

Supporting Refugees

Humanity & Inclusion works in close collaboration with local and international organizations to ensure that services for refugees and displaced people are accessible to people with reduced mobility. Fixed and mobile disability teams in Jordan identify the most vulnerable refugees, connect them with organizations and service providers able to meet their needs, and monitor their ability to access emergency aid. The organization also supports vulnerable and displaced families through distributions of food and hygiene items, and has provided the most vulnerable refugees with cash assistance to help them pay for accommodation, food, and other necessities. Humanity & Inclusion works in close collaboration with local and international organizations to ensure that services for refugees and displaced people are accessible to people with reduced mobility. In collaboration with iMMAP, Humanity & Inclusion is conducting an assessment in camps, host communities and informal tented settlements to identify disability prevalence and functional difficulties. With this information, Humanity & Inclusion will be better equipped to ensure all refugees have access to critical resources, focusing on inclusive education for children with disabilities ages 6-12. 

Inclusion

Humanity & Inclusion works to ensure that people with disabilities and their families enjoy better access to basic service, such as healthcare and education, and that they are actively involved in the development of local policy. The organization trains and supports people with disabilities so that they are able to make their voices heard when decisions are being taken in their communities. A presence in Jordan also enables Humanity & Inclusion to work with disabled people’s organizations, helping them to gain greater recognition of their rights in the country. 

Help Syrians with injuries and disabilities

MANDATE

Since early 2013, Humanity & Inclusion has deployed rehabilitation teams, and partners in Syria, where they've provided physical therapy to the injured and people with disabilities and non communicable diseases. The organization has worked with injured Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon since the summer of 2012. In the summer of 2014, Humanity & Inclusion extended its operations to include Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan. In 2015, demining experts assessed the northern city of Kobani. Four months of combat, including ground fighting and coalition air strikes in Kobani left an average of ten munitions per square meter in the city center, and destroyed nearly 80% of buildings, according to the brief Humanity & Inclusion released in May 2015.

Humanity & Inclusion currently employs more than 400 national and expatriate staff to aid refugees and internally displaced persons in the countries affected by the Syrian conflict.

Since the start of our Syrian Crisis response, our donors have helped more than 555,000 people (individuals and their families) caught up in this crisis.

Please become a donor today.

BACKGROUND

Now eight years after the start of the current crisis, Syria is bogged down in a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 450,000 lives. Fighting is taking place in residential areas, with no distinction made between civilian and military targets. Entire neighborhoods are targeted by daily strikes and, in many part of the country, health facilities, which are seen as strategic targets, have been driven underground, with scant resources to cope with the constant influx of injured people. According to UNHCR, 7 million Syrians have been displaced internally and more than 5.6 million people have fled Syria to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and other countries. 

ACTIONS

• Rehabilitation
• Aid distribution
• Risk education
• Accessibility

REHABILITATION

Humanity & Inclusion helps hospitals and clinics care for injured refugees by supplying rehabilitation equipment and organizing physical therapy sessions for patients. The rehabilitation team provides physical therapy to people who have had limbs amputated and need to learn to use artificial limbs, as well as people with injuries such as complex fractures that could result in a permanent disability due to prolonged periods of inactivity. 

AID DISTRIBUTION

The organization supports vulnerable and displaced families through distributions of food and hygiene items. 

RISK EDUCATION

Risk education teams visit displaced people in camps and urban areas to educate them about the dangers posed by explosive remnants of war. In particular, children are taught how to identify and avoid ordnance. More than 71,500 Syrians have been educated so far. 

ACCESSIBILITY

Humanity & Inclusion works in close collaboration with local and international organizations to ensure that services for refugees and displaced people are accessible to people with reduced mobility.

In Iraq, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International." 

MANDATE

HI launched an emergency project in May 2014 in four Syrian refugee camps to ensure that people with disabilities are able to access aid and services. Immediately following the fall of Mosul in June 2014, HI deployed mobile rehabilitation teams to meet the needs of displaced Iraqis. The organization focuses its efforts in Iraq on emergency response initiatives, rehabilitation, and support for Disable People's Organizations (DPOs). HI employs 140 national staff and 25 expatriates in Iraq.

Click here to read "Expolosive hazards: another fear for the population in Mosul"

Click here to read "Disability in Humanitarian Context:" A Case Study from Iraq

BACKGROUND

HI has operated in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991. Iraqi Kurdistan is largely populated by ethnic Kurds who have sought independence from Iraq for decades.Kurdish rebellions in 1988 and 1991 were brutally suppressed by Saddam Hussein. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, a Kurdish semi-autonomous government was formalized.

According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, Iraq hosts 3 million displaced Iraqis, making living conditions extremely precarious. Another 2.1 million Iraqis are displaced in other regions, in addition to more than 231,000 Syrian refugees currently in the country.

ACTIONS

• Emergency response: Syrian/Iraqi crisis
• Rehabilitation
• Support for Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPOs)
• Mine action
• Risk education

Emergency response: Syrian/Iraqi crisis

HI has been active since May 2014 in four Syrian refugee camps in the governorate of Erbil to meet the needs of people with disabilities and people with specific needs resulting from the crisis in Syria. Run in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council, this project aims to improve access to camp facilitates and the inclusion of people with disabilities in humanitarian relief efforts. Staff work hard to effectively identify needs, asses and refer the most vulnerable refugees, create income-generating opportunities, raise awareness, and ensure facilities are physically accessible. So far, 2,500 refugees and 60 non-refugees have benefited from this project. HI also works to provide services to internally displaced persons in Iraq, including rehabilitation and education sessions on the risks posed by unexploded remnants of war. 

Rehabilitation

Fixed and mobile disability teams provide injured and disabled refugees and displaced people with physical therapy, mobility devices, orthoses and prostheses, and psychosocial support. Staff provide physical therapy to people who have had limbs amputated and need to learn to use artificial limbs, as well as people with injuries such as complex fractures that could result in a permanent disability due to prolonged periods of inactivity.

Support for Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPOs)

HI facilitates collaboration between Syrian and Iraqi DPOs and activists in order to ensure all parties are able to play a role in an inclusive democratic transition to the greatest extent possible. This project includes professional training and other capacity building activities, as well as micro-financing opportunities. 30 DPOs, 130 activists, and 500 other members of organizations are benefiting from these efforts.

Mine Action

In Iraq, explosive remnants of war pollute the land. Our teams have intervened to make contaminated ground safe to help displaced people return to their villages. Since the start of the year, our teams have destroyed more than 2,000 explosive remnants of war in areas affected by heavy fighting. 

Risk Education

Risk education teams visit displaced people in camps and urban areas to educate them about the dangers posed by explosive remnants of war. In particular, children are taught how to identify and avoid ordnance. Since the beginning of the mission to retake Mosul, HI has education 25,000 people.

In Bangladesh, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International." 

ROHINGYA EMERGENCY

As of May 2018, more than 905,000 Rohingya have crossed the Myanmar border and taken refuge in Bangladesh. They are exhausted, frightened, and in desperate need of basic aid, psychosocial support, and rehabilitation care. HI has more than 200 staff on the ground, working to support the most vulnerable, including people with disabilities.

Read our latest situation report (June 2018)

Help ensure critical aid reaches families who have fled with nothing.

MANDATE 

HI works to advance the long-term rights and social inclusion of people with disabilities. It is active in physical rehabilitation as well as providing access to quality services and support in isolated areas of the country. In addition, the organization works to improve the qualify of life in refugee camps.

BACKGROUND

HI has been working in Bangladesh since 1997. Bangladesh is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. According to UNHCR, as of December 2017, nearly 953,500 refugees live in Bangladesh. In 2011, the country had 150.5 million inhabitants; 15% of the population lives with a disability and 49.6% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day. Of the nearly 30,000 NGOs working in the country, around 300 have worked with people with disabilities. As a result, one of HI’s main actions is to build the capacities of local disabled people’s organizations. 

ACTIONS

• Improving quality of life in refugee camps
• Growing Together project
• Economic inclusion
• Natural disaster risk preparation
• Community based rehabilitation

Improving Quality of Life in Refugee Camps

People with disabilities and vulnerable populations living in refugee camps often face significant barriers to inclusion. Around 2,400 adults and children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups living in and around the Nayapara and Kutupalong camps are receiving rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation sessions enable residents to participate in social, economic, and educational activities.

Growing Together Project

Children with disabilities remain one of the most marginalized groups in the country and very few attend school. As an invisible and stigmatized group, they are more exposed to abuse, exploitation, and negligence. Since 2016 and for a period of four years, the organization’s Growing Together project, supported by IKEA Foundation, will develop accessible and secure play areas for children in refugee camps in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. This project will enable 13,000 children with and without disabilities to play, learn and grow up together in a secure and inclusive environment.

Economic Inclusion

HI empowers over 4,000 households of persons with disabilities to lift themselves out of poverty. This project provides support for those persons with disabilities to achieve functional autonomy and access to basic health and social services.

Natural Disaster Risk Preparation

This regional project in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka will help reduce the vulnerability of people living in areas worst affected by natural disasters. The project raises awareness and improves the intervention capacities of local authorities. This project represents the first initiative of its kind at an international level. HI works with multiple partners to achieve effective inclusion of socially excluded groups such as women and people with disabilities.  

Community Based Rehabilitation

HI launched a regional project in 2011 involving Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which aims to strengthen the rehabilitation sector in South Asia. The project focuses on strengthening the skills of community-based rehabilitation professionals. In Bangladesh, 35 local community-based organizations have improved their knowledge of community-based rehabilitation. A total of 40 professionals in this sector have also been trained in six districts. 

HI's previous projects in Bangladesh have included: 

Legal Assistance 

In partnership with Bangladesh Legal Aid Services (BLAST), HI builds the capacities of national and local legal service providers in order to improve access to legal assistance for people with disabilities. Through awareness raising and advocacy actions, HI works with disabled people's organizations to expand national knowledge of disability rights and ensure that Bangladesh fully implements the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).

Assistance to the Survivors of the Rana Plaza Collapse

As a result of the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza Building in Dhaka in 2013 (which caused 1,129 casualties and 2,515 injuries) HI provides physical therapy to people with disabilities who were affected by the incident. The organization has also put in place a sustainable socio-economic recovery project that facilitates employment for those who lost their jobs as a result of the collapse. So far, 100 households including peoples who have sustained a disability during the Rana Plaza collapse have benefited from this project.

Disability Resource Center

The Dhaka Center for Services and Information on Disability (CSID) is providing people with disabilities internet access to promote the rights of people with disabilities. HI is working with CSID to ensure that some 2,500 people with disabilities can access the data and share it with decision-makers, program directors, researchers, students, and other people with disabilities.

In South Sudan, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International." 

South Sudan Emergency

In parts of South Sudan, millions of people are fleeing their homes in search of food and security. In February 2017, famine was declared in parts of the country, affecting 5.5 million people – that's half of South Sudan's population that will face life-threatening hunger this year. With so many people on the move and in need of assistance, HI is concerned that vulnerable people–pregnant women, older people, and people with disabilities–may be forgotten.

Paul Critchley, HI's program director in South Sudan explains the situation on the ground, “It is currently very difficult to reach people most in need. Many roads are impassable after the rains and others are simply too dangerous. The people we work with are displaced, malnourished, and traumatized. Their health needs, both physical and mental, are huge.”

With your help, we can provide urgently needed emergency rehabilitation care, food kits, and other essential items, bringing relief to families in desperate need and helping to prevent permanent disabilities caused by malnutrition in children. 

More about our work in South Sudan

MANDATE

HI first deployed an emergency response team to South Sudan in 2006. Since then, HI has continued to adapt its activities to respond to the immediate needs of the internally displaced population, and promote the equal rights and equal access to services for people with disabilities or injuries. The South Sudan program employs 53 national staff and 14 expatriates.

BACKGROUND

On July 9, 2011, South Sudan became an independent state after suffering from 50 years of war that left two million dead. South Sudan has some of the worst health indicators in the world, such as a lack of access to basic services, the existence of landmines and unexploded ordinance, and high food insecurity. 

In December 2013, conflict broke out in South Sudan. HI was not only forced to briefly suspend its activities and evacuate some staff members, but the organization’s office in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, was destroyed. In August 2015, an internationally-mediated peace agreement was signed. According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, South Sudan is home to nearly 1.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and more than 262,560 refugees. Nearly 645,000 South Sudanese have sought refuge in neighboring countries. 

ACTIONS

• Emergency Response
• Civic Inclusion
• Victim Assistance
• Mental Health Project: "Touching Minds, Raising Dignity"

Emergency Response

HI's emergency response project is aimed at ensuring access to basic and specific services for the most vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities. The organization's actions include emergency rehabilitation; distribution of assistive devices, wound management kits, non-food items, protection kits and psychosocial support. In order to respond to the needs throughout the country, HI has formed mobile teams that work with partner organizations to improve the inclusiveness and accessibility of their responses. These teams have intervened in Yambio, Lankien, Malakal, Bor, Bientu and Yida. So far, 7,000 vulnerable Southern Sudanese and 40 Humanitarian actors have benefited from this project. 

Civic Inclusion

HI’s civic inclusion program works with disabled people’s organizations at the central level and with self-help groups in Juda, Torit, and Bor to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. Through civil society capacity building and community awareness activities the project aims to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in the development of their new country. 

Victim Assistance 

HI is improving access to basic rehabilitation services and offering training to health and social workers, nurses, rehabilitation professionals, and caregivers. HI has also established a rehabilitation room at Bor Hospital and distributed mobility devices. These rehabilitation services are being delivered at the hospital, as well as in remote communities where basic rehabilitation services and wound care services are being provided. Beneficiaries of this project also benefit from individualized case-management where the organization supplies each person with the means to support themselves financially and participate in society.

This project benefits 1,000 victims or people with disabilities, ten health workers, as well as staff at Yei hospital, and two primary health centers.

Mental Health Project: "Touching Minds, Raising Dignity"  

HI is enhancing the social and civil participation of people living with mental health disorders in South Sudan by reforming the structure of the Mental Health policy at a national level. By providing financial, organizational, educational, and operational support to workers in the psychiatric unit of Juba Teaching Hospital and the detention authorities of Juba prison, the organization will guarantee that mental health patients receive proper support and rehabilitation.

At least 3,000 people affected by psychiatric disorders and psychological suffering in the Juba region, 100% of people with mental health disorders confined to Juba prison, 100% of the medical staff in the prison's psychiatric cells, at least ten professional staff from the psychiatric unit at Juba Teaching Hospital, and six community workers will benefit from this project. 

HI's activities in South Sudan are carried out with the support of European Union humanitarian funding.

In Thailand, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International." 

MANDATE

Humanity & Inclusion is providing rehabilitation services for people with disabilities living in refugee camps and neighboring host villages along the border with Myanmar. It is also making sure that people with disabilities have access to camp services and that people are aware of the dangers posed by landmines in the border areas. Since 2016, the program has been in line with the refugees' repatriation and reintegration process and aims to strengthen the coordination between activities in Myanmar and Thailand. The organization employs roughly 164 camp residents, 46 Thai nationals, and three expatriates.

BACKGROUND

Since the later part of the 20^th century Thailand has hosted countless refugees fleeing violence and political oppression in neighboring countries. Humanity & Inclusion was founded in in Thailand in 1982, to help refugees living in camps along the Cambodian borders. Since 1984, Humanity & Inclusion has operated along the border with Myanmar to meet the needs of refugees. According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, Thailand is home to more than 105,000 Burmese refugees. Due to political changes in Myanmar the populations of these camps has been declining steadily since 2011, but huge numbers of landmines on the Thai-Myanmar border present a serious obstacle to repatriation. 

ACTIONS

• Community-based rehabilitation
• Inclusion
• Mine risk education
• Growing Together project 

Community-based rehabilitation

Humanity & Inclusion has established workshops in five refugee camps along the Myanmar border to manufacture and repair prosthetic devices (specifically lower-limb prostheses), other assistive devices like crutches, and specialized seating to meet the needs of the more than 150,000 camp residents. This service is complemented with physical therapy for victims of landmines, to children with cerebral palsy, and to adults who have suffered a stroke. The organization also provides a special service for children with developmental delays. The activities benefit camp residents, landmines survivors who cross the border to seek Humanity & Inclusion services in camps, and Thai citizens living in neighboring villages along the camps.

Social inclusion

The organization works with agencies in the camps to make sure that people with disabilities have full access to work, education, and health services. This is achieved by supporting agencies to remove physical and attitudinal barriers, which prevent access. The project also empowers people with disabilities through self-help groups to enable them to participate more actively in camp decision-making processes.

Mine risk education

The presence of landmines around the Myanmar border remains one of the obstacles to achieving a voluntary and sustainable repatriation in safety and dignity. Mine clearance is a long term goal but in the short term, Humanity & Inclusion is ensuring that camp residents have the knowledge to manage and mitigate the risks they will face. The organization has also developed a database of landmine victims to provide better information to people crossing the Thai-Myanmar border. 

Growing Together project

Children with disabilities remain one of the most marginalized groups in the country and very few attend school. As an invisible and stigmatized group, they are more exposed to abuse, exploitation, and negligence. Since 2016 and for a period of four years, the organization’s Growing Together project, supported by IKEA Foundation, will develop accessible and secure play areas for children in refugee camps in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. This project will enable 13,000 children with and without disabilities to play, learn and grow up together in a secure and inclusive environment.

MANDATE

In Kenya, Humanity & Inclusion works to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities and advance their rights with a special focus on refugee-related issues. Action is being taken to increase the participation of people with disabilities in political life, reduce armed conflict between communities and to combat sexual violence against children with disabilities. Working in Kenya since 1992, Humanity & Inclusion currently employs 79 local staff, 174 refugee incentive staff, and two expatriates. 

BACKGROUND

Despite the post-electoral violence of 2007-2008, Kenya has largely maintained its internal stability and its predominant role in East Africa. However, the situation of disabled and vulnerable people is still fragile and many services need to be provided, such as education, preventative care, and protection against sexual violence.

The country also has an enormous population of refugees, largely from Somalia and South Sudan. According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, Kenya is home to nearly 500,000 refugees. This vulnerable population, especially those with disabilities, has enormous needs in terms of food, healthcare, and other basic services. 

ACTIONS

• Assistance to Refugees
• Protecting Vulnerable Populations
• Maternal and Child Health
• Political Participation

Assistance to Refugees

In Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world, Humanity & Inclusion provides rehabilitation care for the most vulnerable, notably people with disabilities, and distributes mobility aids such as crutches and wheelchairs. Humanity & Inclusion also ensures that the people with disabilities can access humanitarian aid.

Humanity & Inclusion's teams in the Kakuma camps are training care workers to provide at-home care for people with disabilities and the elderly. The organization is providing training in rehabilitation at health centers and in the community. It delivers training to committees of people with disabilities to enable them to raise community awareness about the violence people with disabilities are subjected to, in particular women with disabilities.

Protecting Vulnerable Populations

Humanity & Inclusion is running a regional project titled "Ubuntu Care" in Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda to fight against sexual violence against children, notably those with disabilities. Humanity & Inclusion informs children, families, organizations, and local authorities about the rights of children with disabilities and works to set up a social and legal system of protection. It is also supporting local organizations and services to improve mother and child health in two shanty towns in Nairobi. 

The organization raises awareness among different ethnic groups in north-west Kenya about the dangers of light weapons. Humanity & Inclusion provides the public with information and is establishing close links with security agencies and members of the community. 

Maternal and Child Health 

Humanity & Inclusion works to improve the health of marginalized mothers, infants and young children. The organization is supporting local NGOs in implementing mother and child health services for vulnerable populations in Nairobi, particularly people with disabilities.   

Political Participation 

Humanity & Inclusion is working with political leaders to promote the participation of people with disabilities in political life and worked to improve the involvement of people with disabilities in the 2017 electoral process. As part of these activities, the organization produced and distributed information in accessible formats to people with disabilities on how to take part in the elections. 

Humanity & Inclusion's previous work in Kenya includes:

HIV/AIDS

To promote HIV prevention in Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos, staff trained educators to lead peer-to-peer awareness sessions among youth and at-risk populations such as people with disabilities and young mothers. This program reached 10,000 people with visual impairments, including 4,000 women.

Diabetes 

The organization improved the quality of life of people with diabetes and reduced the occurrence of disabling complications by developing and promoting regional expertise based on a network of local capacities in Kitale and Trans-Nzoia District. In addition, awareness campaigns provided the general population with information about the disease and how to prevent it.

Road Safety  

Humanity & Inclusion works with the police on the issue of road safety, helping establish better enforcement for speeding and helmet violations. The organization also trains local NGOs in how to use the media to promote safer roads. At the same time, Humanity & Inclusion is carrying out a study into the social and economic impact of road accidents.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International." 

MANDATE

Present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 1994, Handicap International provides rehabilitation to people with disabilities and victims of violence, promotes the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools, works to prevent disabilities in babies, and provides logistics support to other NGOs. To carry out its development and emergency activities in the DRC, Handicap International employs 95 national staff and 15 expatriate staff. 

BACKGROUND

The DRC is among the poorest countries in Africa, where 89% of people live on less than $2 per day. It is the second largest and one of the most multi-ethnic countries in Africa. It is also considered to be the world's largest French-speaking country. Over the last 20 years, civil war in eastern DRC has resulted in millions of deaths and injuries and massive population displacement. According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, more than 452,000 refugees are hosted in DRC, which is also home to more than 2.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs), while 467,000 Congolese refugees live in neighboring countries. Faced with the DRC’s staggering needs, Handicap International employs its full spectrum of services, from rehabilitation and preventive care to emergency assistance.

ACTIONS

• TEAM CONGO
• Food Distribution
• Inclusion Technical Unit
• Rehabilitation and Demining
• Inclusive education
• Maternal and child health
• Logistics services
• Support to DPOs (Disabled People's Organizations)
• Road safety

TEAM CONGO

The goal of TEAM CONGO (Training, Economic Empowerment, Assistive Technology and Medical/Physical Rehabilitation Services) is to enable people with disabilities, especially women and girls, living in Kinshasa and Kananga to achieve independence and fully participate in all aspects of life. The project provides quality rehabilitation and orthopedic training to rehabilitation professionals, socio-economic opportunities for 400 women and girls with disabilities, technical and mobility aids for those who require them. This program is generously funded by USAID Leahy War Victims Fund.

FOOD DISTRIBUTION

INCLUSION TECHNICAL UNIT

Handicap International's Inclusion Technical Unit is a team of individuals who work to ensure that the activities and structures of HI's partner organizations are accessible to vulnerable people and people with disabilities in North Kivu. 

REHABILITATION AND DEMINING

Handicap International introduced physical therapy to several hospitals in North Kivu, setting up services, training physical therapists, and supplying hospitals with equipment. The organization is currently training physical therapy students and strengthening the technical skills of existing physical therapists. In addition to working with victims of armed violence, Handicap International also provides rehabilitation to other people with disabilities, and has set up mobile clinics in order to reach children with disabilities living in isolated areas. The organization also clears mines and explosive remnants of war to secure the land and improve the living conditions of communities living in conflict-affected areas.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 

Only a fraction of children with disabilities in the DRC go to school due to discrimination and a lack of accessibility and special education resources. Handicap International works with ten primary schools in Kinshasa to ensure that children with disabilities, particularly girls, are included. The organization trains teachers, improves the accessibility of school buildings, and reaches out to parents in the community to encourage them to send children with disabilities to school.  

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH

Handicap International has run a mother and child health program in the neighborhood of Bumbu Selembao in the capital of Kinshasa since 2008. The program's goal is to prevent and diagnose disability in newborns. Community volunteers distribute information about disability prevention, organize weekly awareness sessions with mothers, and encourage pregnant women to seek prenatal care at the Kitokimosi Health Center. Around 132,114 mothers and 119,531 newborns have benefited from this project. 

LOGISTICS SERVICES

Handicap International offers free logistics services to 50 national and international organizations and to the United Nations agencies, enabling them to come to the aid of affected populations living in areas that lack infrastructure. In addition to transporting humanitarian material and providing storage space, Handicap International is also one of the five members of the steering committee for a humanitarian helicopter, which enables better access to the country's most remote and vulnerable areas. This project is generously supported by USAID OFDA.

SUPPORT TO DISABLED PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATIONS (DPOs)

Since the United Nations adopted the disability treaty known as the CRPD (the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), it has been easier to take a rights-based approach to helping Congolese with disabilities. Based in Kinshasa, this program builds the institutional and operational capacities of three local DPOs, so they can advocate and raise awareness about the problems facing people with disabilities, particularly among the general public, and government institutions. These advocacy actions aim at achieving the ratification of the CRPD in the DRC, which will further strengthen the inclusion of people with disabilities in Congolese society. 

ROAD SAFETY 

Handicap International works in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport and Highways to improve road safety by building the capacities of Road Traffic Police officers and raising community awareness, particularly in schools. As part of this program, Handicap International supervises and trains police officers in 24 communes in Kinshasa to enhance road safety deterrence and enforcement measures. 

MANDATE

Humanity & Inclusion’s mission in Ethiopia includes: improving the quality of and access to physical rehabilitation and orthopedic-fitting services, livelihoods facilities for families of children with disabilities, and assistance for refugees and displaced people. To carry out its mandate in Ethiopia, Humanity & Inclusion employs 35 national staff and two expatriates.

BACKGROUND

Humanity & Inclusion has worked in Ethiopia since 1986, during which time the country experienced repeated bouts of war, drought, famine, and refugee crises along its border regions. Since 2014, the county has become Africa’s largest refugee host, fueled by crises in South Sudan and Somalia. According to UNHCR, as of July 2017, more than 793,000 refugees are hosted in Ethiopia. Although the country ratified the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007, an overall lack of inclusion and accessibility and persistent stigmas attached to disability life make very challenging for people who are differently abled. 

ACTIONS

• Inclusive education
• Assistance to refugees & host communities
• Climate change & disability

Inclusive Education

In Ethiopia only 3% of the country estimated 2.4 to 4.8 million children with disabilities go to school due to stigma and a lack of accessibility, trained teachers, and adapted learning resources. This USAID-funded pilot project at six primary schools in Dire Dawa, Harar and Jijiga aims to develop a model of “disability-friendly schools” that fosters the inclusion of children with disabilities in educational programs. So far the program has benefited 6,700 children with disabilities and 198,200 of their non-disabled peers as well as 1,681 teachers and regional education bureau staff.

Assistance to Refugees & host communities

Due to ongoing strife and drought in neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia is currently hosting more than 200,000 Somali refugees. Many refugees live in camps in Somali state with few resources and challenging conditions, especially for vulnerable people and those with disabilities.

To prevent disabilities and mitigate the difficult conditions in the drought affected area Humanity & Inclusion is ensuring that the most vulnerable people in the refugee population and the host communities of Dolo Ado and Filtu districts have access to basic resources such as stoves and hygiene products and disability-specific services. This includes providing mobility aids, other assistive devices, physical therapy, and linking people with disabilities with other service providers. 17,500 refugees have benefited from non-food distributions, and 16,300 have benefited from health services. 

Climate Change & Disability

In the face of natural disaster, people with disabilities are often forgotten and isolated from the resources that they need. Humanity & Inclusion's REAAP Project (Resilience through Enhanced Adaptation, Action-learning and Partnership) works to sustainably increase the resilience of rural communities to current and future climate change and natural disasters and ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are taken into account. This project raises awareness about the inclusion of people with disabilities in climate change actions, trains people with disabilities on how to respond during a natural disaster, and distributes mobility aids to those who require them.

HUMANITY & INCLUSION'S PREVIOUS WORK IN ETHIOPIA HAS INCLUDED:

HIV & Disability  

Ethiopia faces an HIV epidemic with an estimated adult prevalence of 1.5%. However, people with disabilities are often unable to access testing and treatment as well as information about the disease and its prevention. This pilot project in Addis Ababa aims to ensure that people with disabilities across Ethiopia have access to HIV information and services, which are both tailored to their diverse needs and equal to the services available to others in the community, across selected PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)–funded projects.