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May 29, 2008

JICA Senior Volunteer Activities in Bhutan

Ms. Jigme, participant of Vocational Rehab. Course 2005 wrote her Action Plan on "Bakery Shop."
And she has started her project together with JICA senior volunteer since this January. Mr.Satoshi SEIKE, who is dispatched to the organization of Ms. Jigme sent us the following progress report.

JICA Senior Volunteer Activities in Bhutan
Mr. Satoshi SEIKE, Food Processing Trainer
Assigned to Drak-Tsho Vocational Training Centre for Disabled (“DVTCD”)

Background of the Request by JICA
After 6 years since DVTCD’s establishment, its operation is heading in the right direction and the project to launch a bakery shop for enabling the graduates to secure employment opportunities was brought out by DVTCD. The project started with an aim to receive Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects　supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. However it turned out that a precondition must be upheld, which is to have initiated groundwork activities for the project.
In order to achieve such purposes, Senior Volunteer (“SV”) who is capable of the following was requested by JICA and that is what I engage in currently.

 Teach and train know-how for baking bread/confectionery to trainees with mild intellectual disabilities and with mild hearing impairment.
 Transfer of basic technical information/guidance of bread/confectionery baking and also give advice on selecting basic necessary baking equipment and utensils.

Activities to date and Problems encountered
Initially I proceeded to select the least equipment/utensils necessary for launching a confectionery factory and commencing classes. I planned to procure them using DVTCD funds with a hope to receive the grassroots grant aid. However, I was informed by the Embassy of Japan in India that at least 2 years of the activities shall be necessary to actually receive the grant aid. After having a discussion with Ms. Jigme, the director at DVTCD, we have changed our plan to purchase some equipment/utensils by using JICA’s cost of equipment accompanied by senior volunteer dispatch so that we are able to start a class and a small-scale operation of a bakery shop. At the same time, the renovation of a bakery shop and a factory is also in process, bearing in mind the prospective receipt of the grant aid in two years time. Along with the above-mentioned activities I have been conducting some market researches on raw materials, equipment/utensils and the current status of bread/confectionery shops in Thimphu, capital city of Bhutan. Some of the findings of my researches are as follows.

Raw materials:
It seems that most of raw material necessary for bread/confectionery baking can be obtained. Wheat flour supplied in Bhutan is imported from India and Thailand. Although flour from India is moderate in price it is lack in quality. On the other hand flour from Thailand is superior in quality but the price is far more expensive than the one from India.

Equipment/Utensils:
As some of the large sized equipment for professional use such as an oven, fermenting machine, and blender cannot be obtained in Bhutan, we placed an order for those items with the confectionery equipment manufacturer in Thailand. Also some of the special baking pans for bread/confectionery production are impossible to obtain. Other cooking apparatuses for professional use in general are either unobtainable or poor-quality articles in Bhutan. It is now under consideration if the essential equipment/utensils such as moulds, which are not available here in Bhutan, can be sent from Japan. But, in this case, we cannot use JICA’s budget, so I need to negotiate with the DVTCD director. For other articles, I am considering to look for substitutes in Phuntsholing, a border town near India.

Bakery/Confectionery Shop:
There are several shops selling bread/confectionery. They are baked in large quantities in a different location(s) and brought into the shops. Since it is not commonly acknowledged in Bhutan that freshly-baked bread should be sold fresh, you will find stale bread on the shelves. The prices are inexpensive –the price for a loaf of bread is about 40 Japanese Yen. Confectionaries in Bhutan seem to have influence of India; they contain a lot of sugar and the texture is hard. The prices are also inexpensive and there are also several shops selling homemade confectionery.
I have baked bread/confectionery myself at home to calculate the cost. I am currently reviewing the selling prices. As long as I use highly priced flour, eggs and butter, compared to what we pay in Japan, the selling prices needs to be set several times higher than those of the existing shops. Therefore, I need to change recipes and make high quality products without increasing the price.

Future Activities
In addition to the problems mentioned earlier, there are more issues to be considered and overcome before opening our bakery shop. One of them is to determine prospective customers. Should we sell low price products targeting ordinary Bhutanese people or expensive but high quality products targeting wealthy shoppers? This decision impacts strongly to our product development.
The next issue is a packaging. In Japan, especially regarding confectionaries, the way of packaging influences the marketability of a product. But the shops here in Bhutan just put bread/confectionery in a box without any packaging or just wrap them in plastic. Considering that packaging materials are so limited and we cannot spend much on packaging cost, I am seeking for the cooperation of a SV who engages in packaging designing.
Purchasing large sized equipment was approved by the JICA office in Japan in April. Now the purchasing arrangement is being carried out through the JICA office in Thailand. At the same time designing specifications of our bakery shop and refurbishing plan of our factory is being developed with a cooperation of another SV who engages in construction.
It will take about 2 months before receiving the large sized equipment, if they are shipped by sea. Furthermore It will take a while before starting the construction of a shop and factory), as I need to receive a quotation.
In the beginning I had planned to start a class after 6 months of my arrival, but things are not moving forward as fast as expected.　 Apart from myself, everyone including my two counterparts are all non-professionals. Even if I could start a class in October 2008, in this situation, it seems impossible to open the shop and get it off the ground by January 2010, when the term of my dispatch expires. So, I am asking JICA to consider extending my assignment for one extra year, but under the present situation with the SV Programme, it is unlikely to happen. I sincerely hope that JICA will extend my assignment as much as possible, and despatch a successor in a timely manner.

Conclusion:
I was despatched to Turkey as a SV teaching how to cook Japanese cuisine three years ago. Turkey has achieved a high level of industrial power and good distribution system, and the country is rich in materials/products. If I put an order of necessary equipment to a small-medium scale factory, they could produce the exact products. On the contrary, Bhutan has not achieve a high level of industrialisation and it is dependent on foreign imports. Additionally large part of the country is mountainous area. This geographic condition makes the development of its distribution system more difficult, ending up spending a lot of time and efforts to obtain one article not available in the country. The same can be said for food ingredients. Most of them are imported from India and Thailand.
I spoke with some of the homemade confectionery shop owners in Timphu how they bought the large sized equipment and special baking utensils. Every response I received was exactly the same – travel to either Deli in India or Bangkok in Thailand and import goods privately. There are not any import agents in Bhutan and this seems to be the only way to buy them. This time I could purchase some large size equipment and transport them here via the JICA office in Bangkok. However, I still need some other equipment and utensils for bread/confectionary baking. It seems impossible to manufacture moulds etc in Bhutan. Regarding food ingredients, I will use what I can find here, and then make bread/confectionaries in accordance with the ingredients that I can get.

To conclude my report, I shall push forward toward my initial aim: starting a class for the trainees/counterpart as soon as possible, transferring the technology, opening up a bakery shop, receiving the grass roots grant aid, andassuring stable workplaces for the graduates of DVTCD.

Posted by jicafriends at 02:43 PM | Comments (1)

May 26, 2008

War disabled the most marginalised in Iraq

During the training program of Leadership Development Course we visit Hiroshima Prefecture to learn about "War and Disability." http://www.jicafriends.jp/leaders/gi2007/training/l1022.html
Today we found the the following information from the mailing list of "Disability and Development."

According to a recent study, more than a million people have been disabled on account of the war. The government and civil society are not taking care of them, with serious psychological consequences and tensions within families.

Baghdad (AsiaNews) - More than a million civilians have been disabled by the war in Iraq, and represent the most marginalised sector of society. The psychological traumas they bear create serious imbalances inside their families, and the central government is not paying enough attention to the problem. The denunciation comes from Faris al-Ubeidi, an Iraqi researcher, interviewed by the news agency "Voice of Iraq". Al-Ubeidi explains that the state has the duty of guaranteeing that those who have been disabled by the war, but have professional skills, can still participate productively in the labour force. The problem is that fathers who have been handicapped and are unable to work feel that they are a burden on their families, and this generates psychological problems and tensions.

According to a study conducted by the International Disabled Persons' Organization - in collaboration with the Iraqi ministries of labor, health, and social affairs - out of a population of 26 million inhabitants, after five years of war, over 1 million have been handicapped. Of these, 5,600 are completely disabled, 100,000 have had limbs amputated, another 100,000 have been blinded, and another 250,000 are in danger of losing their vision.

Civil society, the researcher maintains, is instead responsible for exploiting the Iraqi tragedy in order to collect funds (for children, refugees, and so on), but without providing in any way for these other forgotten victims.

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12335&size=A

Posted by jicafriends at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

China sends first medical team to quake zone

The following information was obtained from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Mr. Soya Mori.

BEIJING (Xinhua): A team of 20 Chinese medical workers left Beijing for southwestern Sichuan Province on Thursday to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to the disabled earthquake survivors.

Head of the team and director of China Rehabilitation Research Center Li Jianjun said they were organized by the China Disabled Persons' Federation. Li said there were many cases of spinal injury after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan. Early rehabilitation treatment could minimize the death rate, reduce the level of disability and even prevent disability. It could also help them to return to a normal life as soon as possible.

He said the team are composed of experts in spinal and brain injuries, amputation and artificial limbs, as well as in neurology, ourology and psychology. "We might build a rehabilitation center for disabled survivors, if the total number proves to be very large," said Li. He said a national survey in 1988 showed more than 3,000 survivors of a strong earthquake in Tangshan in north China's Hebei Province, were disabled with amputations.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200805221122.htm

Posted by jicafriends at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

"It' about ability"-Booklet for children

The following information was obtained from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Mr. Soya Mori.

One of UNICEF's first priorities in regard to the CRPD will be working with UN and civil society partners to create awareness and empower children, parent associations and other organizations to use the Convention as an advocacy tool.

The Victor Pineda Foundation and the German National Committee for UNICEF provided the funding to realize this project. The Special Olympics and Save the Children (UK and Sweden) provided space to consult with children at organized events.

Together with its partners, UNICEF will also support data collection and research, and will provide technical assistance in the review of national legislation to ensure they are in compliance with the CRPD's principles.

“The inclusion of children with disabilities is not a charitable act but a matter of rights,” said UNICEF Director of Programmes Nicholas Alipui. “Empowering and enabling children makes them less vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation.”

'It’s about ability'

http://www.unicef.org/files/ItsAboutAbility.pdf
The event also marked another special occasion, as UNICEF presented a child-friendly version of the CRPD called 'It’s About Ability: An explanation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities'.

The child-friendly booklet is part of a collaborative effort involving UN partners, Save the Children and disabled people’s organizations. The booklet was developed by UNICEF and the Victor Pineda Foundation, which works with new media to inspire people with disabilities.

“It’s about ability. That’s what it’s about,” said disability activist Victor Pineda. “Hopefully I can inspire other kids with this book to understand all the things that they can do and to help them understand the promises that have been given to them.”

'It's About Ability' will be distributed together with a set of educational materials, currently under development, which are to be used by youth leaders, peer educators, teachers and community workers.

“We must convince more and more nations, organizations and individuals to join this cause,” said Secretary-General Ban.

http://www.unicef.org/doublepublish/index_43931.html

Posted by jicafriends at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2008

E-Newsletter of YPSA-Bangladesh

Dear all,

Warm greeting.
We are glad that E-Newsletter is going to launch from the next month. It is another initiative of YPSA to provide latest news and information to the people. If you subscribe then you will get E-Newsletter in every month by your email. The newsletter will be formatted as HTML. Every Email ID will be stored in our Database of server.
E-newsletter subscription technology is automated and Webmaster of YPSA designed it by PHP programming.

Please subscribe using a form providing your email id.
You can get the form by clicking the link http://www.ypsa.org/Subscribe_newsletter.php
Or www.ypsa.org

Get involved with the information technology and encourage people to involve with it.
Thank you,

Abdullah Al Shakir
Webmaster YPSA

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com This mail has been sent to you because you are subscribed to AccessBangla@freelists.org. List Moderator: Vashkar Vhattacharya vashkar79@hotmail.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list send a mail to Accessbangla-request@freelists.org With the word unsubscribe in the subject field. New members can join the list by sending mail to accessbangla-request@freelists.org with the word subscribe in the subject field. Members can send mail to the list at ccessbangla@freelists.org

Posted by jicafriends at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2008

Information from Tajikistan

Dear jica friends,

Representatives of our organization from May 10 till May 17th have visited
Islamic republic Iran. The purpose of a trip was a meeting with the disabled
organizations of Iran and an exchange of experience. We were in two large
cities of Iran in Teheran and Meshed. Have visited НGО where are trained
and work disables. We have information that all the disabled organizations
conduct the activity on the basis of the charitable help of people of Iran.
Also we managed to find the disabled organization which is can to organize
tourist round in cities of Iran for 40 PWDs of republic Tajikistan. Our trip
was fruitful and has given an additional impulse of our activity. The major
factor successful cooperation of PWDs of Tajikistan and Iran is the general
Persian language. We hope in the future to organize in Tajikistan the Forum
of the disabled organizations of the countries of the Central Asia, Iran and
Afghanistan.

best regards,

Asadullo Zikrikhudoev from Tajikistan

Posted by jicafriends at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2008

Memory of Mr. Maruyama-Taiwan

Condolence for Mr. Ichiro Maruyama can be found at the website of Eden International Welfare Foundation in Taiwan.

http://engweb.eden.org.tw/modules/news/article.php?storyid=69

Posted by jicafriends at 05:51 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2008

Mr. Ichiro Maruyama’s Acceptance Speech

Mr. Ichiro Maruyama received the Special Masao Ogura Award from the Yamato Welfare Foundation on December 5th, 2007. And he expressed his gratitude with the following speech, which touched everyone's heart.

This is the English translation of his Acceptance Speech at the 8th Yamato Welfare Foundation’s Award Presentation.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your presence today. I have been under treatment since last April when a malignant tumor was discovered. As you can see, nutrients are being injected intravenously. I am not entirely sure, and therefore I feel a bit shy, when I wonder if my work is worthy of receiving the award in the name of the late Mr. Masao Ogura. However, I decided to accept it with a tremendous sense of gratitude for the kindness of so many people. I am particularly happy to do so also because I can share this honor with my wife, and the entire family, who have been going through a very difficult time for all these years. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

With your permission, I would like to have my son read my speech as I easily get tired and am unable to sustain my voice.

It was in 1964, 43 years ago when I was still a college student and participated in the Tokyo Paralympics as a volunteer interpreter under the auspices of the Japanese Red Cross. Japanese athletes were all sent either from the hospitals or shelters and institutions where they were treated as patients. None of them had jobs. No one even thought they could be employable.

Contrary to this, the athletes from the West were all ordinary working people in their respective society. We learnt that even those with severe disabilities were full members of society working in various kinds of jobs. Compared to where they came from, they told us, the Japanese environment for the people with disabilities (PWDs) was at least 30 to 50 years behind.

At the Japanese team wrap party, the athletes were happy and proud that they could participate in the wonderful world that celebrated humanity. At the same time, however, they were all in tears with the thought of having to go back to their lives of no hope.　
The difference between Japanese society and that of the West’s was staggering. I was aghast at the misery of Japanese conditions.

I chose “Disability and Productivity” as the theme of my graduation thesis. While organizing volunteer groups to assist Paralympics athletes toward their employment, I researched the working conditions and situations of the PWDs who were not employed in a true sense. I visited the workshop in Hakone (*the remote mountainous area of Kanagawa) for disabled veterans. There were only a few workshops in Tokyo and Kanagawa area. At these facilities, people were engaged in menial work and they all had gloomy and sad expressions on their faces. At the Tokyo Colony, they lived in partitioned passenger cars no longer used by the Japan Railway. Their meals were left over foods from the hospitals. How moved I was at the sight of recovering tuberculosis patients such as Mr. Kazuoki Shirabe who were trying to create places of employment on their own. The patients hovered over mimeograph machines on their beds.

Furthermore, I had an opportunity to visit the athletes in the United States and Europe who participated in the Tokyo Paralympics at the places of their employment. Through this trip, I came to understand such fundamental approaches towards disability as distinctions between rehabilitation and employment programs and creations of an inclusive social environment where everyone, PWDs included, could live together harmoniously. I witnessed many people with severe disabilities, for whom open employment was hard to obtain, enjoying their work at the Goodwill Industries and Abilities in the United States. I was encouraged by watching many European athletes working in the program under the special assistance employment policy such as Remploy in the UK.

Japan’s situation, so far behind the West, seemed absolutely hopeless. At the same time, however, I thought: if the West could achieve this much, Japan should be able to do so too. A report of my study tour in the West was presented to Mr. Yutaka Nakamura, Head of the Japanese team at the Paralympics. My proposal was to build a modern factory, not tiny shops for menial jobs. Thus, I joined the fund raising activities to build what was later to become “Japan Sun Industries.” In its original Japanese, Mr. Tsutomu Mizukami (author/novelist) named it as "Taiyo no Ie" (meaning "the House of Sun"). While he decided to use the word "Ie" (meaning "house" or "home") with special thoughts in his heart for persons with disabilities, the word "Industries" was chosen for translation for its English version of the name.

After graduating from the university, I wasted no time in joining the Japan Sun Industries located in Beppu, Kyushu. I wanted to put what I learnt at the university like plant design, quality control and motion study into practical use. In retrospect, I was totally engrossed and inspired. The first production was bamboo crafts. Three years later, when we became a part supplier for the Sharp Corporation, we were ecstatic. Unlike anywhere else, the Japan Sun Industries continues its operations to date by employing more than 1,100 PWDs who manufacture products for the affiliated major companies like Omron, Sony, Honda, Mitsubishi Corporation and Fujitsu. Behind this progress lies tremendous efforts by able administrators like Mr. Yoshihiro Ikata and PWDs who came to work from all over Japan.

Forty-three years has passed since the Tokyo Paralympics. I was fortunate to have been guided by wonderful leaders and mentors like Messrs. Kazuoki Shirabe, Hajime Ogawa and Kenji Itayama. I was also lucky to have had capable friends and colleagues in and out of Japan. Together with them, I had opportunities to work in all kinds of disability related issues; to name a few, vocational rehabilitation, promotion of employment and work, welfare factory management, development of diversified forms of work, environment improvement movements, promotion of measures to help PWDs, and development of human resources as well as employment in Asia. I am delighted to be in the company of Mr. Akiyoshi Yamada today as a fellow recipient of the award. He and I go back a long ways, from the days when we worked together to widen the PWDs’ living environment.

If I may humbly say, I made a small contribution as a liaison to coordinate activities among many disability organizations that exist in Japan to promote international cooperation. It was a great pleasure for me that all these disability related activities and experiences enabled me to act as a public relations person during the United Nation’s International Year of Disabled Persons and to make various program proposals as a welfare officer during my years in the Japanese government.

Much progress has been made in the intervening years. We provided information to enhance public awareness and to call the political attentions towards disability issues. We made coordinated efforts among different organizations and movements. All these efforts are attributed to the introduction of the Basic Pension Program・Special Allowance for PWDs. We were very happy that the income security for PWDs was improved and their lives were drastically changed for the better. We were proud of the big step forward Japan made. The entire nation accepted the responsibility of bearing the necessary costs to create a harmonious Japanese society. We also saw it as Japan’s concrete contribution by being an exemplary model for the rest of Asia.

By furthering the progress made thus far, we had high expectations that additional steps forward would lead to the solutions of many remaining problems. To move from “Full participation and Equality” to “Society for All” was a goal set by the United Nations to eradicate disability problems. With regards to development, Japan was behind the West by 50 years. But efforts and resulting improvement helped minimize the gap.

However, this hopeful development was arrested. Making an entire society harmonious is the fundamental key in addressing disability issues. Our perseverance stopped making further inroads in the shadow of the weakening social security resulting from the countries’ fiscal crisis. Now, I would even say it has regressed. People who live in the most difficult conditions are excluded in the debate on social security as a whole. The debate circumvents the notion of what the fundamental idea of a harmonious society is or should be.

Set the goal whereby persons with severe disabilities can lead a normal social life. It will bring the benefits to everyone in our society. I wish to reactivate our efforts once again to have all the sectors of society to have a greater understanding of this. How I wish to bring back our energy that gave birth to the Disability Basic Pension!

On the employment front, persons with disabilities - and therefore with low productivity - are dealt with under the welfare programs. They continue to be excluded from the measures under the employment policy. The International Labor Organization’s recommendation made more than 50 years ago was that PWDs be included in the employment policy. The representation we submitted to the ILO recently sends a message to the government, and entire society, which includes businesses, labor unions, and social welfare operators. We cannot and should not acquiesce any longer.

My days are numbered, but I urge that a coalition be formed so that they can carry on what has been started and work toward solving problems. I feel Mr. Ogura, with this award, is going after me not to give up our struggle till the end.

Thank you again, ladies and gentlemen. I am much honored

Ichiro Maruyama

Posted by jicafriends at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2008

Deepest sympathy for the victims of earthquake in China

A powerful earthquake with magnitude 7.9 struck Sichuan province in south-west China, on 12 May, 2008. Our hearts ache to hear sequent natural disasters first in Myanmar and then in China.

According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s report on 12 May, Xinhua News indicate that the death toll is now at 12,000 with an additional 26,206 people injured and 9,400 people buried in debris.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KKAA-7EM42T?OpenDocument

The news reports us that there have been many aftershocks since the quake. We hope that affected people are rescued as soon as possible.

We, jicafriends and JSRPD send our deepest sympathy for the victims of the earthquake and wish for the safety of our former participants in China and their friends, families and peers.

Secretariat of jicafriends

Posted by jicafriends at 02:53 PM | Comments (2)

Sincere sympathy for the victims of Cyclone “Nargis” in Myanmar (Burma)

A devastating cyclone “Nargis” struck western Myanmar on 2 and 3 May, 2008, directly hitting the country’s largest city, Yangon.

According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s report on 10 May, the official death toll is now 22,997, with 42,119 missing and 1,430 injured. Food, water purification supplies and receptacles, sanitation facilities for temporary camps, shelter materials, fuel, and essential medicines and treatment are all critical needs.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/STRI-7EHPSX?OpenDocument

We, jicafriends and JSRPD would like to express our deep sympathy for the people who suffer from this disaster.
We are worried about the former participants in Myanmar and hope they and their friends, families and peers are not affected too much.

Secretariat of jicafriends

Posted by jicafriends at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

New Deaf Studies, SIgn Linguistics and Africa list serve

The following information was obtained from Intl-Dev mailing list wiｔｈ cooperation of Dr. Amy Wilson, Gallaudet University.

Dr Victoria Nyst at Leiden University and I have set up a new yahoogroups for scholars and researchers in Deaf Studies, Sign Linguistics and related studies in Africa.

The group is open to people who have some expertise/knowledge about the Deaf Community in Africa.

In order to join the group, you need to send a blank email to:

deafstudies-africa-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

and you will be automatically added.

This new group will not replace deafintl - its just a smaller (a bit more informal/chatty) group for much-more-specific scholars :-)

Shane Gilchrist Ó hEorpa
University of Amsterdam

Posting receved from the Deaf Empowerment and Advancement Fellowship International List at http://patriot.net/~ashettle/deafintl/

Posted by jicafriends at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)

Deaf and Transsexual men are selected into the Constitution Assembly-Nepal

Kathmandu, May 1, 2008
Annapurna Post

Nepal Communist Party (UML) chose Deaf and Transsexual men by the PR method to create a new constitution.

UML President, Chandra Dev Joshi on Thursday said, "Raghav Bir Joshi, a Deaf man, and Sunil Babu Pant, past president of Blue Diamond Society will be involved in constitution making".

"Raghav will be the first Deaf member of Parliament in Asia. He has for 25 years worked for the effective rights of Deaf people. He is a sign language user and uses Sign Language interpreters to communicate. It is not a success only for him, but also for the thousands of deaf people".

With Radha Bohara interpreting, he promised, "he will work hard for the rights of Deaf people, physically challenged, and intellectual disabilities in the new constitution."

"Currently hearing people have had their say in legal matters and deaf people voiceless, but now we must include them in the new constitution. I want to thank lawyer Krishna Prasad Bhandari for my selection".

The other new member is Pant, a transsexual representing the 3rd gender. He is happy with the respect given to the 3rd gender by the UML. Pant is also the first parliament member in this CA.

UML selected 5 members as per the tally of votes they received.

Posted by jicafriends at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2008

Report from Lilian-Chile

Dear jicafriends,

I would like to introduce you "First National Study on Disability" by
National Fund for Disability.

Hope you will understand more about the situation of persons with
disabilities in my country.

Regards,

Lilian Elizabeth Garrido Vasquez (Leadership Development Course 2007)

First National Study On Disability

Posted by jicafriends at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

Report from Ng Chung Chiat-Malaysia

A Job To Call Their Own

Chinese radio station AI FM Malaysia and CIMB have paved the way for the disabled to become deejays.

One of the biggest challenges facing the disabled is their integration into society.
As Thomas Yeoh, one of the 12 disabled students who have completed a speech training course at the Voice Academy in Kuala Lumpur, says, "People sometimes donate money, wheelchairs and hearing aids, but what we really need are jobs.

Loving work: Pua Ghin Chu, 25, (centre) Low Mee Li, 40 and Yeoh Kee Soon, 45, (left) work as deejays at AI FM.

"Nobody wants to live off charity the rest of his life. Holding a job gives us a sense of pride, self-worth and purpose," says the 45-year-old, who has been wheelchair-bound for the last two years because of muscular dystrophy.

"I worked as a draughtsman until I became confined to a wheelchair. So now I have to learn other skills to obtain a job that I can do in spite of my disability," says Yeoh, who along with course mates Ivy Pua Ghin Chu, Low Mee Li, 32, and BGF director Sia Siew Chin, 46, have been offered stints as deejays with RTM's Chinese radio station AI FM.

Pua, a care and employment co-ordinator at Beautiful Gates Foundation for the Disabled (BGF) in Petaling Jaya, says the speech training course was conducted in Mandarin and focused on pronunciation and how to use voice more effectively.

Pua became disabled at 16, after surgery to remove a blood clot from her spine.

"Most physical disabilities do not affect a person's mental faculties. Yet, a high percentage of the disabled are uneducated due to society's poor acceptance of them, especially in schools.

"The infrastructure in schools is also not disabled-friendly. Moreover, many teachers and students don't understand the difficulties faced by the disabled or don't treat them with respect, which is why a large number drop out. The more educated members of the disabled community are usually those who became disabled later in life, after having obtained their tertiary education," Pua points out.

Pua and her three compatriots will helm a programme for the disabled in April, thanks to an initiative by CIMB Bank Berhad, which sponsored their course and approached AI FM to broach the idea.

Undergoing voice training.
They recently hosted two Chinese New Year 2008 Specials on NTV7's Chinese language programme called Finding Angels.

"The bank doesn't just hand over sponsorship money, but believes in working with its beneficiaries to obtain the expected results,'' says CIMB head of Community Link and CIMB Elements, Johnny Yong.

"This involves a lot of time and commitment. For instance, we had to convince the Voice Academy to enrol disabled students. We also spent a lot of time encouraging the disabled to take the course."

According to AI FM programme manager, Ng Leng Leng, 40, the station pondered over the idea of disabled deejays after being approached by the bank.

"It's the first time we are engaging disabled deejays. When I attended the graduation ceremony at Voice Academy, I heard Sia saying she wanted the public to know how the disabled felt, and not what the public believed they felt.

"Sia also said the disabled are victims of social prejudice rather than their disabilities. I was so moved by what she had said that I decided to have a radio programme by the disabled, for the disabled," recalls Ng.

The programme format will include sharing diary entries and daily experiences. The disabled will be encouraged to submit short stories within 100 words. The winning entry will be read on air and receive a prize sponsored by CIMB.

"We will also discuss some basic dos and don'ts that the able-bodied can observe when interacting with the disabled. For example, one should not immediately lift a disabled person who has fallen down,'' says Thomas.

"He should first squat and ask if the fallen person is hurt and what help he requires. Be sensitive to the type of disability when attempting to help the person. Don't force a person with cerebral palsy to hold a pen, because he is not able to do so. We will also discuss the proper way to push a wheelchair, especially when going up an escalator or down a steep ramp," says Thomas.

Ng says the station is excited about the show but notes that the facilities in their own building are not disabled-friendly.

"We have to carry the disabled deejays over one flight of stairs to the broadcasting room, which does not comfortably accommodate wheelchairs. The deejays are also not able to reach all the switches and still need able-bodied people to help them with the console. These are real-life problems, which the disabled can easily overcome if the infrastructure is built to suit them," she says.

Ng thinks it's a shame the disabled are being deprived of jobs they can quite easily do simply because of infrastructural problems. She hopes other companies, too, will think about the issue and consider providing employment opportunities for the disabled.

NG CHUNG CHIAT – MALAYSIA
(Participant of The Vocational Rehabilitation Course 2005)

Posted by jicafriends at 11:13 AM | Comments (1)

May 09, 2008

Report from Joseph-Cameroon

Dear jicafriends,

How are you?

I know you will be astonished by this mail considering the long moment of silence since I left Japan.

Talking about my Action Plan, after returning home country, things were not so easy. It took me two months to meet the Social Affairs Ministry to present her my report. I am still struggle to meet the Minister of Labour, Economy and Education. My staff had adopted some modification proposed by the Minister of Social Affairs. Thus, my Action Plan is for another chance. Initiative Program has started, and our Center is not like before.

Although we have no financial support, the Cente is now awaken with many activities.. We have published HOPE, the Newsletter, opened the counselling office, created an association of parents with children with disabilities, a forum for leaders of PWD associations that is trying to convince the President of the Republic to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of PWD.

I will send my progress report to JICA soon, now the report was written in French, so I need to translate it into English.

I can't finish this letter without express my sincere apology for this long moment of silence.
I have many reasons to explain; 4 computers in my office have been damaged by an electric problem. Until now, we have only one computer available for 6 persons. We have no Internet connection in the office, I have been sick for one month, political crisis had ragged the country for one month.. .

But now I'm OK and hope we will keep contact from this moment to ever.

With best wishes,

Joseph POUAGAM,
Cameroon

Posted by jicafriends at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2008

MIUSA: women leaders with disabilities from around the world to strengthen leadership skills

The following information is obtained from Intl-Dev mailing list with cooperation of Dr. Amy Wilson, Gallaudet University.

MIUSA (Mobility International USA) will bring together 25 women leaders with disabilities from around the world to strengthen leadership skills, create new visions and build international networks of support to explore new leadership opportunities for women and girls with disabilities.

WHO CAN APPLY
Emerging and established women leaders with disabilities who are:

From Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, the Middle East , and Oceania/Pacific

First time visitors to the USA and have NOT participated in a MIUSA WILD program

From an organization led by and for people with disabilities, or by and for women, with particular attention to issues of women and girls with disabilities; or employed in a business or program committed to inclusion of women and girls with disabilities

**Women with disabilities who are from rural areas and/or indigenous backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply**

DATE & PLACE
August 12 - September 2, 2008
Eugene, Oregon, USA

For more information and application form, visit the following website:
http://www.miusa.org/exchange/WILD2008/index_html

Posted by jicafriends at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2008

The 1st Asia-Pacific CBR Congress-Thailand

The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Royal Thai Government welcome you to the 1st Asia-Pacific CBR Congress, 9-11 December 2008, at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok.

This will be the first opportunity for CBR implementers, policy-makers and representatives of disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) from all over the Asia-Pacific region, to share the experiences, to form a network and to be updated with the new trends in CBR with the content of the Asia-Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (2003-2012) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

http://www.cbr-asiapacific.org/

Posted by jicafriends at 11:20 AM | Comments (6)

Help yourself or One day in a wheelchair-Kyrgyzstan

Do you remember Mr. Bakyat from Kyrgyzstan, former participant of Leadership Development Course 2007 ? We found the following information about his country.

It was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Mr. Soya Mori.

31/03-2008 15:40, Bishkek - News Agency “24.kg”, By Olga CHEBAN

Life is rough. And especially for physically challenging people. Have you ever wondered about difficulties they face everyday? Going shopping, or anywhere else. And have you ever imagined yourself in their shoes?

The news agency “24.kg” decided to have an experiment and see how it feelsto travel around the city in a wheelchair. Here I would like to make it clear, I did not intend to make fun of people or cheat on them. I honestly explained that I am not disabled, but a journalist trying to figure out if it possible to survive in Bishkek if you ride a wheelchair. The experiment turned out to be tough and shocking in many ways, but still worth doing it.

Step, one more step…

Riding a wheelchair is not an easy thing to do. I have never thought it would be that hard. I was stumbling all the time and it took me great efforts to take my wheels out of holes and cracks of the sidewalks. I was about to fail me experiment 10 minutes after it started.

Jeep is the best solution for sidewalks…

...Or a tank is even better. I must admit, I was very nervous, my hands and fingers were failing me, sweat was coming down my face and heart was jumping out of me.

It took me half an hour to ride 10 meters up the sidewalk and I felt completely exhausted. Then my colleagues were helping us (wheelchair and I became one) to overcome countless obstacles on our way. They were cracking jokes, trying to make me feel better. But the hardest thing was yet to come. The first slap in the face came from a little girl following us on her bike. She was inspecting me all the way up the street and when I asked her if she wants me to give her a ride on my wheelchair, she shocked me with her insolence. “Yeah, right! I am not an invalid, like you!” the
girl said sarcastically and rode away.

There's some good in the world

The second surprise found me near the Caravan shopping center. Caravan is one of the few shopping centers in Bishkek which has entrance ramps. What a humanism! But even here it was absolutely impossible for me to climb a way too high ramp without somebody’s assistance. When my co-workers finally brought me in it was a nice hall, but the second and the third floors were unreachable for me, they have only step-escalators. However, I managed to go down to the bottom floor were they have big grocery store Stolichniy. There leads a nice sloping escalator, but I still had to pull the brakes all the time in order not to fall behind.

After that we headed for a National Surgery Center to see if hospitals offer easier ways for disabled to get in. Instead all my hope was snatched away. There were two narrow ramps to the both sides from the entry, which fit only for children carriages and a paved walk-down. After 10 minutes of freeze I turned for help to two young women passing me by. “No time for you girl.
Help yourself,” a “warm-hearted” lady said. I was speechless…

Sitting there for 10 minutes with a hopeless look and a lump in my throat, I was already about to cry, “Take it easy, girl. I will help you out,” said a young man pushing my wheelchair up the ramp. Now I know for sure, there are good men in the world.

The next point of destination was a regular apartment house on Toktogul Street. There the situation is quite the same, no entrance ramps, narrow doorways and too high steps. It seems that no disabled people live there. But they do. And how they do is already another story.

City Hall is not for disabled ones

I did not manage to get into the City Hall house and did not ask for help either. I felt terrible seeing officials turning away pretending they did not see me. “Excuse me, are disabled not admitted here? What if I have a social issue to be solved? Have you read the Law On “social care for disabled?” I asked with a feeling of pique.

“No disabled come here. Our laws unfortunately exist only on paper, nobody observes them. Go better to Parliament, they write laws and they should control if they are well-observed,” a smoking man said and started dialing numbers on his cell phone.

Last meters

On our way back to the agency we crossed couple of streets and once again made sure that nobody and no one cares about disabled people in Bishkek, neither authorities nor regular people. Passersby were staring at me as if I were a monkey. The world seemed so huge to me and I was so
small and helpless. The experiment was coming to its end. I felt completely worn out both mentally and physically. I had no emotions left, absolutely empty. The experiment was over, but I had this strange feeling inside. A feeling of guilt and despair…

http://eng.24.kg/community/2008/03/31/5008.html

Posted by jicafriends at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

May 01, 2008

Accessibility and Voting in Elections in India

We found the following informaion from Disabled Peoples' International's (DPI) E-news.

Accessibility and Voting in Elections in India

In a major victory for people with disabilities, about 50,000 voting machines could be equipped with Braille and ramps erected at all polling booth for the upcoming elections in Karnataka.

The state’s chief electoral officer, M.N. Vidyashankar, gave this assurance to disability activists who met with him earlier this week under the banner of Karnataka Angavikalara Rajya Okkoota (KARO), an ActionAid supported initiative. He promised that a circular will be issued to all officials concerned to ensure that each polling booth had a ramp and Braille equipped voting machines so that persons with disabilities can vote in the election May 10, 2008.

As delegates, including wheelchair users and people with vision impairment, visited offices of political parties seeking representation of their demands in the election manifestos, they met with several barriers. "Steep stairs at the entrance inadvertently greeted the delegates and despite being informed in advance no one was there to hear us," said Victor John Cordeiro, programme manager of ActionAid's Disability Unit. "Delegates spontaneously shouted 'remove stairs and construct ramps' and all the others joined in," he added.

Full article at
http://actionaidindia.org/People_with_disability_Karnataka%20fight_to_make_election_count.htm

Posted by jicafriends at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

Golden Week in Japan

Dear jicafriends

Have you heard of Golden Week?

This time of every year in Japan, we have a series of holidays so-called Golden Week!
As you can see in the calendar below, this year it started on April 26.
Many offices are closed on these days and a lot of people take advantage of it to enjoy themselves.

April 26 Saturday
April 27 Sunday
April 29 Tuesday: Showa Day
It is the late Emperor Showa's birthday. After his death, it was designated as a national holiday.
May 3 Saturday: Constitution Day
It is a day to commemorate the enactment of the Constitution of Japan in 1947.
May 4 Sunday: Greenery Day
Greenery Day used to be on April 29 but it changed to May 4 since 2007.
It is a day to appreciate the nature and preserve Japan's greenery.
May 5 Monday: Children’s Day
It is a day to hope for the health and happiness of children.
It used to be called “tango no sekku”, a day of celebration for boys only and put up carp-shaped streamers for this day.
May 6 Tuesday: National Holiday
As Greenery Day happens to fall on a weekend this year, an extra day is designated as a national holiday.

Secretariat of Jicafriends

Posted by jicafriends at 03:19 PM | Comments (1)