All resources needed to support people with disabilities

With the “Together We Can” project, many people with disabilities in Quang Tri Province have enjoyed a better life. Tran Thi Thanh Toan, program manager for the Central Coastal Region under the Center for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), speaks to Quang Tri (Quang Tri Newspaper) about how the project has benefited local people with disabilities.

Leave no one behind

Could you briefly introduce the SRD and the “Together We Can” project?

The “Together We Can” project, sponsored by Caritas Australia through SRD, is underway from July 2022 to June 2027. Local partners of the project have been the governments of Trieu Phong District and three communes of Trieu Thanh, Trieu Thuan and Trieu Tai for the first two-year stage. In the later stage, we plan to cooperate with Trieu Dai and Trieu Trung communes.

We expect to deliver outcomes for more than 1,000 adults and people with disabilities and their families, targeting to provide them with an independent, self-reliant, and rightful life with social equality. To achieve these targets, the project “Together We Can” concentrates on giving the locals a safe living environment, improving well-being and economic status, raising physical standards, and empowering people with disabilities.

Why did the SRD Center launch the “Together We Can” project in Quang Tri Province?

Provision of support for people with disabilities, protection of children, and gender equality are three of our major activities. From 2012-2022, we co-worked with Gio Linh District People’s Committee to conduct the project “Empowering people with disabilities” in 10 communes for more than 2,000 beneficiaries.

Through hard efforts, the project was well-received and highly valued by the sponsor and related parties, and we were recommended to launch similar projects in other areas of the province.

How does the project differ from other ongoing projects in Quang Tri Province?

We contacted the locals to collect general and insightful information during the project’s feasibility studies in June and July 2022. Our approach, which was quite different from other projects, enabled them to join us in the first place.

Themed “Together we can”, the people can design the project, discuss existing issues with the project management team, make and execute action plans, and monitor and review the activities together.

What are the positive outcomes that the project has delivered after one year?

Based on our approach, local people with disabilities and the community have taken proactive actions. Together, they decide what and how to do and maximize their resources with a positive attitude to produce the best outputs for the future.

After a year, the project “Together We Can” has helped find three clubs for more than 200 people with disabilities and their family members. With the assistance of the project, 19 families have had their homes reconstructed and enhanced, 150 families have completed training on preventing and minimizing the risks brought by natural disasters, and 116 families have received regular home healthcare services. We have also set up two classes for children with disabilities and three teams who have qualified from first-aid training to provide support during natural disasters. In addition, we have assisted 23 young handicapped people and 43 families in learning skills and starting their businesses, organized training courses for hundreds of adults and children on child protection and prevention of accidents and abuses, and given swimming classes to some 40 students.

Many people with disabilities have become more open and positive to the community. They have the accessibility to use and manage the resources in a better way and share their experiences with others.

People with disabilities partake in a training course under the project “Together we can”. Photo: T.L

A safe living environment for the disabled

One of the expected and most challenging goals of the “Together We Can” project is to build a safe living environment for people with disabilities. How have you performed to achieve it?

The project “Together We Can” is based on the local area where there are high chances of accidents, child abuse, and harassment. To make sure people with disabilities enjoy a safe life, we have had multiple activities to communicate and educate local people to raise their awareness about child protection, organized swimming classes for children, assisted local people in acquiring necessary first-aid and emergency skills to respond to accidents and natural disasters, and installed signs at highly-dangerous locations. We acknowledge that to achieve the goals, we need joint efforts from local authorities and people, which is the source of power to drive our project forward and achieve the expected results.

What are the difficulties in developing a safe living environment for people with disabilities from your perspective?

Practically, different handicapped people require different training and assistance depending on their living conditions, families, and levels of disability. For instance, many must be more confident to blend into social life and receive proper information. Some parents are too protective, which makes their children vulnerable to external factors. Meanwhile, not all handicapped children can swim safely and the resources are limited... We know all these difficulties and are trying to resolve the issues through our project activities.

What solutions will the SRD Center and the project adopt to develop a safe environment for disabled people and achieve the expected outcomes?

In the project “Together We Can”, the project management team and related parties conduct regular reviews to evaluate the accomplished activities and develop action plans for the following periods. We will continue our effective acts, such as installing warning signs in highly dangerous areas. We also teach local students to swim safely, prevent accidents and injuries, and do first-aid basics. Our project will also maintain and expand special classes for disabled students, organize training courses to intensify local awareness about child protection and community-based disaster prevention, and work with related parties to integrate project activities into other local programs.

Thank you for your time!

Quang Hiep – Huy Anh