Program
INTRODUCTION OF US
CHILD RIGHTS PROGRAM FOR NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
In Bangladesh the number of the children with disabilities especially the neuro-developmental disabled children is increasing and this number is not at all small that is also applicable for Rajshahi. The neuro-developmental disabled children are depriving from the rights and needs that they are desire or mostly need as neuro-developmental disabled children in Rajshahi . They are deprived of access to therapeutic services, special education and training, access to professional care, rights to protect from abuse and exploitation, rights to participation, rights to survival and development, rights to participate in recreation, pleasure and sports, right to non-discrimination and inclusion. The social, cultural, attitudinal, institutional barriers as well stigma existing in community level makes the situation very complex. They are mistreated and neglected in all spheres of social life. In contrast, the work on the rights of neuro-developmental disabled children by the government and the non-government organizations are still extremely limited in comparison to the ever-increasing need for interventions and services for those children in Rajshahi. Considering these, FWCA has been working with neuro-developmental disabled children (cerebral palsy, down syndrome, intellectually disable and autistic) in Rajshahi since 2005 through its child rights programs called “ Anondodhara”. The purpose of this thematic program is to promote the rights of the children with disabilities especially the neuro-developmental disabled children. It is operating specialized centres called “Anondodhara Centre” to provide necessary services to the neuro-developmental disabled children which include physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, special education and training, indoor outdoor sports, appropriate skills development training, outing, excursion, sports and physical training, case management, home visit and parents counseling, nursing child forum and use creative arts as means of therapy , reintegration and rehabilitation services. Beside this, it is working for awareness generation and local level advocacy in its working area on the issues of disabled children along with capacity development of staffs, care givers (parents) and the organization as well.
No poverty
Best education
Clean water
Good health
Nutrition
Help is our main goal !!
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COMREHENSIVE REHABILITATION CENTRE
FWCA has been working with the neuro-developmental disabled children since 2005 and from its commencement we have a dream to establish a permanent “comprehensive rehabilitation centre-RC” for these children. The need of this rehabilitation centre came from the parents and the working experiences with neuro-developmental children as when mothers are praying to god “oh god! We want to die after the death of my neuro-developmental children or along with our child”. These thinking and praying of mothers are arising because of unavailability of the protection facilities of these children when the parents will not able to taking care of them. This RC will be a permanent compound for these children where all the necessary services and care systems for their survival, development and protection will be included. It will be working as residential and non-residential rehabilitation approaches. To building this centre, the organization firstly need land for establishing necessary infrastructure as still it operating all its programs in the rented houses and limited spaces. However, the plan is three phases for establish a RC for neuro-development disabled children. First: Buy a suitable land for the comprehensive rehabilitation centre, so that we are now opening a fund raising campaign. Second: Building the necessary infrastructure in purchased land of RC. Building the necessary infrastructure must be continued. Third: action for the sustainable operation of RC.
PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG ADOLESCENT
The adolescence is important life stage for human beings. A large portion of population in Bangladesh constitutes adolescent boys and girls and half of them are girls. The girls in Bangladesh society are growing up by facing a number of challenges because of their gender identity. It is noted that the disabled young adolescent girls are more vulnerable because of their gender identity as well as disabilities. The socialization of the girls in Bangladesh seems to have followed a set of pattern where they have been trapped and molded by deep-rooted cultures of patriarchy. In a male dominated society, due to gendered social norms, they also systematically excluded from variety of access and facilities that mostly related to their life as well rights. In social settings, the process of exclusion tends to exist at every part of the social spheres. The girls in Bangladesh society are more likely to be denied access to health care, victimized by the dowry practice, married at very young age and often become pregnant before their bodies are fully developed, forced into slave like conditions as a domestic servant, exploited as a factory worker, abused sexually, physically and emotionally, malnourished throughout childhood, educated inadequately and forced into prostitution. The disabled adolescent girls face dual pressure as girls and as disabled. The girls in Rajshahi especially the girls who are living in poor familial condition are very much vulnerable of the abovementioned issues. In such circumstances, with a view to promoting aggregate social development through optimistically altering the situation of young adolescent girls FWCA has been working with these girls in Rajshahi city since 2005. It acts through the helping and enabling process in order to organize young adolescent girls in their self-help organization. Along with this, the adolescent girls are assisted in arranging weekly study circles, theme based meetings and assemblage. It is conducting training on life skill based education, training on social and family life education, Reproductive health and rights, gender and development. Apart from these, FWCA is providing skills development training on various trades and business for their economic empowerment. It is also using creative and performing arts for psychosocial and cultural supports to the adolescent girls. Awareness generation and local level advocacy are also going on under this program.
A huge number of populations in Bangladesh still are living under poverty line and among them the poorest of the poor are women. And among the women, the divorced women, separated women, working women in informal sector, women with disabilities, mothers of disable children, violence victim young women, violence victim young girls etc. are most vulnerable. The World Bank Country report of Bangladesh reported that female earnings contribute one-fourth to one-half of the family incomes. But they are not recognized and in most of the cases they are the head of the family and working in informal economic sectors without any technical skills. The experiences have shown that the young women are at risk of hazardous or engaged in worst forms of works due to their lack of technical skills on economic activities for their engagement in alternative livelihoods. The young women and adolescent girls who are victims of early marriages, victims of dowry practices and single women due to separation, young women who are the mother of disable children are also most vulnerable because of their lacking of skills on economic activities and are not able to compete for engaging alternative livelihoods. They are at risk of sexual abuse, domestic violence, worst form of labour, sexual exploitation, emotional abuse, substance drug abuse, dowry practices, engaged in domestic servants as a form of slavery, victims of salary exploitation and many other forms of violence. It is the reality that every problem mentioned above are deeply interlinked. But for those young girls and women, there are fewer opportunities of economic skill development training and as a result the situations are going more critical for them. The social education, skill development training and alternative livelihood promotion process of young girls and women help to increase their social worth and strengthen arguments against violence and to reduce the risk situation. FWCA has been providing social education, family life education, LSBE, gender and development, human rights, civic rights trainings and skills development training to the young adolescent girls and women for alternative livelihoods. The organization has been working with women specially the mother of disable children, young and adolescent girls and others. The objective of this program is to improve their level of awareness and capacity for the betterment of their children and adolescent, and to promote women human rights. FWCA has been organizing regular meetings, conducting orientation, workshops, and providing skill training that needs to develop their capacity and skills for economic empowerment.
FWCA is committed to make itself as a humanitarian social work institution. So it is trying to adopt a participatory and learning organizational development process. It has been trying to build its institutional capacity as per need and ability. In the mean time FWCA has taken initiatives to build up capacity of the staffs through arranging training, orientation, workshop, and meetings. The organizational capacity and staffs development to implement the program effectively and smoothly is required but it is a continuous process. FWCA has been working to prepare future strategic plan as an integrated organizational operation where the capacity development of the organization will be a major part. It is working to develop its necessary unit, system and policy. In the meantime the organization has gained the capacity and expertise on rights based program planning and designing, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation that its works for along with financial management, record keeping, financial monitoring etc. Although FWCA is needed to enhance its own staff capacity in the area of Child Rights Programming (CRP), child participation, human rights programming, gender, facilitation/presentation skill, sustainability theory and practices, tools, process and mechanism, advocacy and networking skills, communication and presentation skill, proper documentation skill etc. Besides, capacity initiative is needed for financial management and other systems for FWCA that also continuous process.
FWCA is addressing the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and rights of disabled people. It is raising awareness and knowledge by advocacy, research and publications on climate change, sustainable uses of natural resources, sustainable agriculture, food security, health and emergency relief activities. These activities are trying to awareness and knowledge building and action through community involvement as well as others theme base GOs and NGOs actors.
FWCA emphasize on the need to create a wider constituency to promote human rights issues. That is why FWCA is playing its appropriate role with theme based network with GOs and NGOs at local, national and international level. At the local level it has been trying to build issues based network with the CBOs and Civil societies group. Beside that FWCA has been trying to developed relationship with national, regional, international theme based network, academia and media.
FWCA conducts various theme based study and with the study findings it initiate advocacy. In the meantime, it has gained its expertise on the field of social research. It has also gained expertise on documentation and publication of issue based awareness materials, books and research report.
FWCA has been nursing a creative arts group consisting of its adolescent girls and with the special need children since 2007 as a strong support group on the rights based social movement of FWCA. FWCA has used creative art for social mobilization to increase people’s knowledge and awareness and particularly perception and attitude. As such, bringing qualitative changes in attitudes and stereotypical practices within families, communities and institutions that have been addressed as the key focus of the FWCA’s Rights based Program. Besides that it has been using creative arts as means of therapy for girls and special need children.