In Thailand, Humanity & Inclusion continues to run programs under the operating name "Handicap International."
Humanity & Inclusion in Thailand
Thailand is the birthplace of Humanity & Inclusion, where teams have been working since 1982. Initially founded to help the refugees living in camps set up along the border with Cambodia, offering orthopedic fitting to people with disabilities or those who had lost limbs as a result of landmine accidents, by 1984, Humanity & Inclusion was also helping refugees there from Myanmar. These activities in the country led to the opening of 15 orthopedic fitting workshops, which now form part of Thailand’s network of provincial hospitals.
Today, there are more than 91,000 refugees from Myanmar living in Thailand, according to The Border Consortium. Our teams continue to work in refugee camps, providing artificial limbs to victims of anti-personnel mines and raising awareness of the threat from these weapons, promoting the inclusion people with disabilities in their communities and improving the living conditions of children in refugee camps.
Areas of Intervention
- Physical rehabilitation, prosthetics and orthotics, access to services
- Social Inclusion
- Risk education on mines and explosive remnants of war
Pending the clearance of landmines from the border areas between Myanmar and Thailand, Humanity & Inclusion's 142-member team is raising refugees’ awareness of the dangers posed by mines and other explosive remnants of war. These awareness-raising actions should reduce the risks they face when they return to Myanmar in the future.
Humanity & Inclusion also runs a social inclusion project for refugees with disabilities from Myanmar, improving their access to the various services that are offered in the camps. As a result, people with disabilities now have access to education, vocational training and primary health care.
Our Past Work
Humanity & Inclusion has been in Thailand for four decades, fostering a culture of dignity, access, and inclusion for ALL people with disabilities and individuals living in situations of vulnerability in the communities we serve.
Read on to learn more about our past work in Thailand and consider investing in our future.
Growing Together project
The organization’s Growing Together project, funded by the IKEA Foundation, developed accessible and secure play areas for children in refugee camps in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Community-based rehabilitation
Humanity & Inclusion has established workshops in five refugee camps along the Myanmar border to manufacture and repair prosthetic devices and other assistive devices. The organization also provides physical therapy for survivors of landmines, to children with cerebral palsy, and to adults who have suffered a stroke.
