The Ability Bhutan Society (ABS) launched a project titled “Building an Equal and Inclusive Society” yesterday. The three-year project aims to identify the situation and number of people living with disabilities especially women and children in five identified dzongkhags.
The project will be implemented in Chhukha, Dagana, Punakha, Sarpang and Trashigang to build inclusive development for persons with disabilities. The dzongkhags are selected based on high prevalence of persons living with disabilities and its suitable location.
“After having identified the needs and challenges, the project will firstly prepare themselves with advocacy and awareness in the community both family and local level. And at the end of the project, people living with disabilities will be prepared as per their abilities to be able to contribute to the nation building,” Ugyen Wangchuk, the Executive Director of ABS, said.
The project targets to involve close to 7,800 people in the five dzongkhags. The ABS has recruited five dzongkhag community rehabilitation coordinators and 10 community rehabilitation assistants. These officials will carry out baseline studies in the dzongkhags particularly to identify and provide the right interventions for persons with disabilities.
“They will be trained by the experts from India. And once they report the baseline study, then we will have the intervention done. They will have then train ECCD facilitators, local health workers, local leaders including the monk body targeting their own families and individual themselves,” Ugyen Wangchuk said.
Based on need assessment, the ABS will provide disability friendly tools like customized wheelchairs, walking sticks and adaptive toys among others.
The project worth close to 500,000 euros is funded jointly by the Federal Ministry for Economic Corporation and Development of Germany, DAHW, a private executing agency based in India and the Ability Bhutan Society.
