Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Project – working with people with Disabilities

The Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) project is a new community based project which CTRD is implementing this year, with a focus on improving the lives of people with disabilities (PWDs) living in the Nilgiri District. The project is focused on a participatory approach, which is sustainable in its intervention and which ultimately empowers PWDs.

At present, most disabled people in this area live very difficult and unfulfilled lives, lacking the basic skills and confidence to enable them to integrate within mainstream society. In addition to their disabilities themselves, there is the addition barrier of discrimination and misconception from wider society.

Largely through ignorance, the treatment of disabled people in this region is at present sometimes dire, with examples of people being locked alone inside a hut the whole day, while other family members are at work.

Family members themselves are sometimes embarrassed to be seen in public with a disabled relative, and can also feel that the disabled person is a burden on the family, due to their misconceived notion that PWDs are incapable of making an income and contributing towards family earnings.

Although the challenge is big, CTRD Trust is confident that with dedication and the right approach, the lives of disabled people can be dramatically improved, and that their inclusion into mainstream society is possible.

Although mainly focusing on people with visual impairments, the initial pilot project will also include people with other disabilities too. The target age group for beneficiaries is 19 to 45 year olds, as one of the key end objectives of the project, as other development projects, is to enable people to gain employment, contribute to their family income and become fully integrated within society.

A baseline survey / community profiling was conducted by CTRD has identified 340 people with disabilities, who will be beneficiaries of this project.

Experts in the disability field, along with five full-time, trained CTRD staff, will in turn assess each disabled person in the community to identify the extent of their disability, assess the needs of the individuals and determine what help can be provided. Training on mobility and living skills will be provided by specialists in disability training.