« June 2011 | Main | August 2011 »
July 27, 2011
CBR REPORT 2010/2011 FROM UGANDA
Dear jica friends;
It has been quite long with out hearing from me. Uganda is good though some
parts of the country are quite dry and hot and some people don't have water
and food.
I hope the good Lord is still protecting you and for my friends in Japan, i
am so sorry for the tragedy that fell in your country.
Allow me share with you my report for the F/Y year ending, 2010/2011 about
the work on Disability in masaka District, Uganda
Lastly, i thank you so much for all the support you are giving the
disability community in the world
Miiro San-Uganda
Posted by jicafriends at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)
Celebrating ADA and Disability Rights Around the World -- July 2011 Newsletter
http://usicd.org/template/index.cfm
Posted by jicafriends at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2011
Training Report : June 29, 2011: Participatory Workshop : Facilitator Skills
The purpose of the session was to learn what necessary skills for facilitation were, and how to become an effective facilitator through a participatory workshop.
The lecturer has over 30 years of experience of conducting this kind of workshops throughout the world.
The lecturer created an atmosphere favorable for a discussion.
All the participants were given the opportunity to speak up and express their opinions freely.
Also, he shared many important philosophies of the facilitator that he gained from his 30 years of experience.
The participants could learn not only from the lecturer, but also from one another through interactions.
The lecturer chose to use traditional materials in his teaching, such as pictures and paper documents, instead of digital equipments. He also introduced the participants to a role-play session. This was due to his policy to use materials and resources that are easy to understand as well as easy to find anywhere, including the participants' own countries.
The session provided the participants with the great opportunity to gain very useful knowledge and also to think back deeply about the situation of their own communities and countries.
The day became a very meaningful one.
http://jicafriends.jp/vocational/gi2011/training/v0629.html
Posted by jicafriends at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
Training Report : June 25 2011 : Job Report Presentation
In this training course, the participants are asked to write three reports: (1) Job Report, (2) Project Plan, and (3) Progress Report.
Today the participants presented their first report, Job Report. They had prepared it prior to their arrival in Japan and have been practising a presentation very hard.
The event was organized in Seminar Room 18, JICA Tokyo Center. It attracted more than thirty attendees, who enthusiastically listened to the presentations and took part in discussions. The event was carried out in the English language.
Three professors who are members of the Planning Committee acted as a chair in turn and, thanks to their organization and facilitation, the day went on very smoothly and effectively. Also the participants seem to have benefited a lot from today's experience.
Each presenter discussed his/her job and issues surrounding disability back in home country for 20 minutes, which was followed by a 15-minute Q&A session. A number of questions were raised from the audience after each presentation.
The participants are now to draw up a Project Plan during their stay in Japan. They will submit a Progress Report after their return to their home countries.
http://jicafriends.jp/vocational/gi2011/training/v0625.html
Posted by jicafriends at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2011
Brief Report of Workshop on National Policy on Disability, Myanmar (Burma)
Dear our colleagues and friends,
I would like to share a brief information and report of important workshop for persons with disabilities in Myanmar as I also participated as one of participant of the workshop. Please see detail information in below and see some photos in attached file.
Best regards,
Nay Lin Soe (Chairman)
Network for Myanmar Disabled People (NMDP)
Brief Report of Sub-Regional Workshop on National Policy on PWDs in Myanmar
By
Nay Lin Soe (Chairman)
Network for Myanmar Disabled People (NMDP)
“Sub-Regional Workshop on National Policy on PWDs” was held in Nay-pyi-daw, capital city of Myanmar (Burma) from June 27th to 29th 2011. It was mainly organized by Department of social welfare, Myanmar and co-organized by The Leprosy Mission International (TLMI) and Action Aid. It is the first action for developing policy on disability in Myanmar by our government after 1960 and showing the good initiative of the country. About 50-Participants – Representatives from different ministries, Various Local and International NGOs and 6-Disabled representatives from DPOs were attended along the workshop. In addition, special guests from China, Bangladesh, Thailand and Cambodia were also attended in the workshop and shared their experience on developing disability policy in their countries.
The purpose of the workshop was to advocate the government officers on disability issue, to learn experience & lessons from neighbor countries and to get contents for developing policy and law for disabled persons in Myanmar.
The opening remark was given by Deputy Minister of Department of Social Welfare, Myanmar and greeting speeches were given by TLMI and UNHCR respectively. At the end of opening section, Department of social welfare launched “The First Myanmar Disability Survey” and disseminated to workshop participants.
In the first day, the organizer made pre-discussion together with participants from different sectors. In second day, participants mainly learned the experience and lessons from special guests from China, Bangladesh, Thailand and Cambodia on their making policy on disability. In last day, there had active and comprehensive panel discussions at two particular rooms (divided into 2-groups) and all participants actively debated on two main topics “Policy” and “Law” under the facilitation of Department of social welfare and discussed on detail input contents for “Setting Policy” and “Drafting Law for PWDs” in Myanmar.
Remark:
According to current news from Naypyidaw, the outcome results of the workshop had approved by Minister of social welfare and continuous process will be done step by step as road map together with representatives from different sectors including disabled delegates.
Posted by jicafriends at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
5th African Forum On Blindness Opens-Ghana
The following information was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Mr. Soya Mori.
The Ghana Blind Union, in collaboration with the World Blind union and the African Union of the blind, has begun a 4 _day African forum on blindness in Accra on the theme: “Access Africa—Exploiting The Full Benefits Of Social Inclusiveness For All Persons”. In a speech delivered to open the forum, the Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, disclosed that modern services for the blind and partially sighted were started by philanthropists and missionaries which eventually led to the establishment of the Akropong School for the blind and a sheltered workshop for the blind at Adabraka.
The Minister said the declaration of the International year of Persons with Disability in 1981 and activities in the decade which followed including the social and political changes in Ghana re-awakened interest of government leading to discussions to have a Disability Act to protect the rights of affected persons.
Hon. Mensah said in 2006, Parliament promulgated the Persons with Disability Law (Act 17), while in 2009, a National Council of Persons with Disabilities was established to oversee the implementation of the provisions of the law. He pointed out that the passage of persons with Disability Act in August 2006 preceded the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in December which contained all its core principles including access to education, employment, health services, and family and community life to promote inclusiveness in all development agenda.
He said as part of efforts to promote inclusiveness in all our development agenda, District Assemblies, which are the equivalent of the Council under the US political system, is enjoined by law to set aside 2% of the Common Fund to support persons with disabilities in their education and for tolls to establish their own means of livelihood. “While these achievements must be acknowledged and celebrated, we need to recognize at the same time that there is much more work ahead of us still”, he added.
Hon. Mensah expressed regret about the challenges faced on the need for skills in managing disability issues at all levels —national, regional and community, noting that there was the need to have people who understood the issues manning the post at every level of the chain of service delivery.
He gave the assurance that government would continue to pursue a national development agenda that prioritized the realization of citizens’ rights and entitlements which enhanced the nation’s democratic development and constitutional rule. “We will persist in this because we believe that a safer, stronger, Ghana will be achieved through developing a more equal Ghana – a Ghana where everyone has opportunities to fulfill their potential, where no talent is wasted”, he added.
Present at the four-day forum are both national and international groups of the blind.
http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6505:5th-african-forum-on-blindness-opens&catid=28:general-news&Itemid=162
Posted by jicafriends at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2011
Greetings from Jake-Zimbabwe
Dear jica friends,
I am very well here in Zimbabwe.
I have been thinking of you people but I was posted to work outside of the town since I came back. My project plan, Go-Green-Honey is going ok.
Please pass my tender greetings to all lecturers and friends.
Jacob MAKONYE
(Leadership Development 2010)
Posted by jicafriends at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
Social Standards Requiring Reconsideration-By Katsunori Fujii
The Degree of Restoration of Daily Life of People with Disabilities Will Show the Real Strength of Japan
Katsunori Fujii
Executive Director, Japan Council on Disability
If only they didn't have disabilities…
The Great East Japan Earthquake struck elderly and disabled people alike without mercy. Many were crushed sitting in a collapsing house, and still many more were swept away in the tsunami waves or caught in the fire, unable to run away. Not a few with mental or autistic disorder must have been losing consciousness, merely trembling. If only they didn't have disorders… I cannot help imagining. Numerical analysis is yet to be carried out, but it is not hard to imagine that existence or nonexistence of disabilities directly translated into the difference between life and death. Many must have lost lives or are still unaccounted for because of the disabilities.
Difficulties for the persons with disabilities come in large quantities not only at the very moment of the disaster. New hardship awaits immediately thereafter, typically such as the power outage, disrupted water supply, and fuel shortage following the disaster. The life supporting devices, including the artificial respiration device, oxygen breathing apparatus, dialysis equipment, and suction machine (for suctioning sputum and spittle), all rely on electricity. Artificial dialysis requires a large amount of clean water. Outage of power and water can immediately mean outage of life. Electric wheelchairs and electric beds for prevention of pressure sore and for changing positions will be of no use without electricity.
The new hardship also includes life in evacuation. In particular, the life at evacuation centers are said to cause suffering. It may be all right immediately after the earthquake, but as the days pass by, persons with disabilities find it uneasy to stay on. People with autistic disorder, psychiatric disability, or cognitive disorder, as well as infants, cannot deal well with sudden and drastic changes in the environment. Many end up with weird language and behavior, which frequently results in troubles with the unimpaired. Some with palsy in limbs are unable to use non barrier-free toilets. The evacuation centers are a tough place for those with acoustic disturbance who cannot hear the signal telling arrival of relief supply, or for those with visual impairments who cannot move smoothly in a crowded space.
Just as at the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, not a few left the evacuation centers involuntarily. Some are said to have gone back to their own half-collapsed houses. Others, they say, are wandering around without any destination. Departure from the evacuation centers also mean departure from relief supplies and information. " A society that shuts out a number of its members is an impoverished society " is a phrase from the United Nations resolution in commemoration of the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981). The unprecedented disaster has stretched the regional societies to the extreme feebleness and fragileness. Unfortunately, persons with disabilities have been monstrously “shut out”. The enormous impact of the disaster coupled with the accident at the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant for which there is no clear roadmap to end the crisis, has made such “shutout” everlasting. Even at present, there must be measures that can be taken immediately to improve the life in evacuation. Prompt implementation of such measures is strongly urged.
Implement restoration and social security measures in integrated manner
The central concerns in supports are now shifting from the life saving and rescue operations at the initial stage to livelihood support of evacuees, and, at the same time, to restoration and reconstruction. Some emphasize that the reconstruction should not simply aim at restoring what was there: what is required is the flexible way of thinking for neogenesis and creation. In any case, structuring on a grand scale will begin in this vast area. In doing so, what is important is how to interpret the disaster. The huge earthquake was a natural phenomenon. So was the gigantic tsunami. Both were certainly natural disasters that could not be avoided. However, the resulting damages may not necessarily be so. A large portion of the damages was man-made. In the grand structuring in coming days, it is essential to ensure that such man-made disasters are done away with. The man-made disasters. They overlap the negative aspects that the nation's social policy has embraced. Then, their removal is essential not only for policies for reconstruction of the damaged regions and for provisions against the seismic activity that does not seem to be waning. It must be the basis for drastic turnaround of the nation's social policy, including changes in the energy policy. The issues of marginal settlements and collapsing medical systems are getting more and more serious in the earthquake-hit regions. These issues must also be addressed as part of the policy.
Let me elaborate on the matter in conjunction with our proposal from the standpoint of those working for people with disabilities. Let me tell the conclusion first--it is essential to bring the social standard, or social focus, back to human beings. During the past half century, the society changed overly rapidly so that growth, efficiency, and profitability are valued. The society, including regions, was remodeled based on these values. So was the structure of human mind. This is not comfortable to disabled and elderly people, who do not go well with efficiency and speed. Sooner or later, the laws and budgets (including supplementary budgets) for reconstruction measures will be established, and the reconstruction plan will be formulated accordingly. The largest issue is what to take up as the basis of the policy. As a barometer, please always bear in mind the idea that is generally accepted in developed countries: a society accessible to persons with disabilities is one accessible to all.
As the first step toward the ideal, what we would like the administration to do is to avoid viewing the reconstruction measures and social security policy as something mutually exclusive. The policy attitude should be that the prioritized allocation of social security budgets to the devastated regions forms the basis of reconstruction measures. Such a policy should be an invaluable message in visualizing the newborn Tohoku Area. We would like to work with local people to reconstruct the Tohoku Area that is attractive to persons with disabilities as well, no matter how long it takes. Hopefully, in the future, the "3.11" will be remembered as the turning point for the Japanese society as a whole toward the human-oriented one.
http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/resource/press_release/fujii110512.html
Posted by jicafriends at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2011
Computer training report 2nd quarter
Dear jica friends, please find the attach report. happy reading. thanks, vashkar
Posted by jicafriends at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2011
Training Report : June 23, 2011: Lecture : The Right to Decent Work of Persons with Disabilities
This morning, nine participants attended the lecture given by Emeritus Professor from the Faculty of Social Policy and Administration, Hosei University, Tokyo.
The professor illustrated the ILO Conventions and Recommendations and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=199
It was a great opportunity to learn about the international framework for employment of those with disabilities.
The participants enthusiastically listened to the lecture and raised a number of questions and comments, applying the ILO’s norms to their own countries.
Thanks must go to the professor for his time and talk. The participants could all enhance their understanding towards the ILO mission and the important concept of “decent work.”
http://jicafriends.jp/vocational/gi2011/training/v0623.html
Posted by jicafriends at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)