New Homes for People with a Disability
Just to be sure I borrowed an alarm clock from the next door neighbors. This day, July 21st I had to get up at 4.00 am to go to an official function in Awassa, a town a four hour drive south of Addis Ababa. As usual, no need for the alarm. My built-in alarm did its work well, as it has done for so many years.We, the hospital director and the hospital administrator and myself, arrived 10 minutes before the official ceremony, due to start at 8.30, and decided that we had enough time to drive into town and have breakfast. It turned out that we had. We returned at 9.20 and the official function started about half an hour later. We still had to wait for the arrival of the official guest of honor. It is not uncommon for functions and meetings to start an hour late when, back home, the doors would be shut or you would be very embarrassed entering a function that had started.
The official function? The handing over of 40 or so newly constructed houses for people with disabilities, many of whom who were disabled because they had had leprosy which in their case had resulted in multiple deformities and ‘exclusion’ from the community. The houses had been build on two different locations.
Many of these patients had been living for years on the outskirts of Awassa in shacks, Now they each have a home, duplex/ semi-detached, with an entry/ living area, two small bedrooms and a kitchen. Outside a toilet (sorry, for the Americans a ‘restroom’). This site is now totally ‘upgraded’, next door to a rehabilitation center for children, and will soon be absorbed in the city proper where in the past it was a place outside the city walls.
Where in the past the care of leprosy patients was predominantly ‘physical’ i.e. drug treatment, exercises to prevent joint stiffness, footwear and surgery, now there is increasing focus on, and interest in, the social/ economic aspects of care. Rehabilitation has become holistic and money has become available for vocational training, self help/ support groups, scholarships etc. and housing.
Not only that, donor agencies, and local and government officials have also joined hands in funding projects that look beyond the physical problems.
Not only that, people with disabilities have started organizing themselves and become ‘one voice’ in pleading their cause, even in ‘developing’ countries. In the case of this project, the organized ‘disabled’ people themselves were instrumental in initiating the project; more specifically the Ethiopian National Association of Leprosy Affected Persons. They were the ones that got The Leprosy Mission interested and a formal project proposal was formulated and discussed with the local government.
In the case of this housing project, the local government donated the land and local government officials were very much present during the handing over ceremony. A government official from the Federal government in Addis Ababa was the guest of honor and the main speaker. The leprosy organizations had contributed money for the building of these low cost houses, houses that were also made available for people with other disabilities then those that could be caused by leprosy e.g. poliomyelitis and blindness. As part of the official ceremony we, the guests, also visited a broom factory. In this workshop there were 15 people with various ‘disabilities’ employed including leprosy affected persons but also a patient with AIDS.
Again, the local government had donated the grounds and the workshop. A donor agency had equipped the workshop and fifteen families now have a regular income.
All of these activities and the organizations involved therein help to restore dignity in those they support and will reduce ‘stigma’ in the community. Worthwhile goals to pursue, for sure.
Shalom and blessings, WIM
The official function? The handing over of 40 or so newly constructed houses for people with disabilities, many of whom who were disabled because they had had leprosy which in their case had resulted in multiple deformities and ‘exclusion’ from the community. The houses had been build on two different locations.
Many of these patients had been living for years on the outskirts of Awassa in shacks, Now they each have a home, duplex/ semi-detached, with an entry/ living area, two small bedrooms and a kitchen. Outside a toilet (sorry, for the Americans a ‘restroom’). This site is now totally ‘upgraded’, next door to a rehabilitation center for children, and will soon be absorbed in the city proper where in the past it was a place outside the city walls.
Where in the past the care of leprosy patients was predominantly ‘physical’ i.e. drug treatment, exercises to prevent joint stiffness, footwear and surgery, now there is increasing focus on, and interest in, the social/ economic aspects of care. Rehabilitation has become holistic and money has become available for vocational training, self help/ support groups, scholarships etc. and housing.
Not only that, donor agencies, and local and government officials have also joined hands in funding projects that look beyond the physical problems.
Not only that, people with disabilities have started organizing themselves and become ‘one voice’ in pleading their cause, even in ‘developing’ countries. In the case of this project, the organized ‘disabled’ people themselves were instrumental in initiating the project; more specifically the Ethiopian National Association of Leprosy Affected Persons. They were the ones that got The Leprosy Mission interested and a formal project proposal was formulated and discussed with the local government.
In the case of this housing project, the local government donated the land and local government officials were very much present during the handing over ceremony. A government official from the Federal government in Addis Ababa was the guest of honor and the main speaker. The leprosy organizations had contributed money for the building of these low cost houses, houses that were also made available for people with other disabilities then those that could be caused by leprosy e.g. poliomyelitis and blindness. As part of the official ceremony we, the guests, also visited a broom factory. In this workshop there were 15 people with various ‘disabilities’ employed including leprosy affected persons but also a patient with AIDS.
Again, the local government had donated the grounds and the workshop. A donor agency had equipped the workshop and fifteen families now have a regular income.
All of these activities and the organizations involved therein help to restore dignity in those they support and will reduce ‘stigma’ in the community. Worthwhile goals to pursue, for sure.
Shalom and blessings, WIM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home