Danish Disability Fund
APPLICATION
To be filled in by DPODDisability Fund ref. no.
Date received
D: PROJEcT OF MORE THAN dkk 3 MILLION
1. Cover PageGrant modality
(insert X) / C: Cooperation project between several org. / C: Major development project / D: Project of more than DKK 3 million X
Danish applicant organisation (financially responsible): / Danish Association of the Blind (DAB)
Contactperson for the project: / Name:Susanne Kjær
Email:
Phone:+45 21 71 67 84
Other Danish partner(s):
(if relevant) / N/A
South partner(s): / Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB)
Project title: / DREAM – Disability Rights, Empowerment, Awareness, Mobility
Country(ies): / Rwanda / Country’s GDP per capita:
697 USD (2015 World Bank)
Project period: / Commencement date:
1 October 2017 / Completion date:
30 September 2020 / Total number of months:36
Total amount applied for: / 4.997.813 DKK
Is this a new project? / [ ] A. Yes, a new project.
[ X ] B. A project in extension of a project that has been supported (by the Danish Disability Fund or others): HP 129-037
Is this a re-submission? / (i.e. a revised version of a previously submitted application).
[ X ] No
[ ] Yes, date/year of previous application:
Do you want a response letter in / [ ] Danish or
[ X ] English
Insert synthesisof the project in Danish
Projektet har til formål at sikre inklusion og lige muligheder for mennesker med synshandicap i Rwanda.
Særligt sigtes der mod at styrke 15 RUB lokalafdelinger i 12 distrikter, samt styrkelse af det politiske arbejde nationalt, så RUB kan advokere effektivt på medlemmernes vegne. Tematisk arbejdes der for at forbedre adgang til uddannelse for børn med synhandicap og at fremme medlemmernes sociale og økonomiske vilkår ved at sikre dem træning og adgang til lokale ressourcer, og ved at engagere familier og lokalsamfund. Udvikling og testning af ”læringsmodeller”samt ny viden omkring relevante interventioner indenfor uddannelse og beskæftigelse vil blive brugtstrategisk til at påvirke myndigheder og andre relevante aktører med henblik på implementering af gældende politikker og inklusion i ”mainstream” programmer og services. Et øget samarbejde med bl.a. paraplyorganisationen NUDOR vil blive etableret i den henseende.Fokus på bæredygtighed er desuden gennemgående i projektet via udveksling af erfaringer, ”peer support” og ToT træning, samt intensiv fundraising.
2. Aplicationtext
- WHAT IS THE CONTEXT AND THE PROBLEM? (suggested length: C applications 4-5 pages, D applications 4-6 pages)
1.a The overall context[1]
Rwanda has made good progress over the last two decades since the enormous challenges it faced in the aftermath of the genocide in 1994 that destroyed the country’s entire social and economic fabric. Rwandans have benefited from rapid economic growth, reduced poverty, more equality and increased access to services, including health and education. Improvements in living standards are evidenced by e.g. the attainment of near-universal primary school enrolment (for non-disabled children). Since the first Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS 2008-2012), Rwanda has enjoyed sustained economic growth (8% average), and the poverty rate dropped from 59% in 2001 to 45% in 2016. In the countryside, progress has however been slower and many needs regarding access to services are still not being covered.
According to the 2012 Fourth Rwanda Population and Housing Census (RPHC4), there are approximately 446.500 persons with disabilities aged 5 and above in Rwanda (with a slight overrepresentation of females), representing 5% of the population aged 5 years and above. The real number of persons with disability is likely to be higher, as the World Health Organisationestimates that approximately 15% of any given population will have a disability. The same census stated that 57.213 persons are blind or partially sighted (BPS) which is equivalent to 13% of persons with disability (PWD) and 1% of the general population.
In Rwanda there has been a strong political will to deal with disability issues due to the high level of disabled people emerging from the war. Rwanda has signed and ratified most of the regional and international conventions and treaties. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its optional protocol were ratified in 2008 and Rwanda is soon slated for a CRPD state review. The Marrakech Treaty[2] is yet to be adopted, but generally there is advanced legislation in place with regards to disability, the starting point of which is a rights-based approach. A major problem is that implementation is lacking behind, but still, the international commitments adopted by Rwanda since 1998 appear to have influenced national policy strategies. This goes for the 2003 National Constitution (articles 28, 40 and 76), but also to key legislation. A central achievement for the disability movement is the Law on the General Protection of Persons with Disabilities which was adopted in 2007 (Law No. 01/2007) (referred to as the Disability Law). The Disability Law describes the state’s obligations to address the needs of persons with disabilities, in conformity with the Rwandan Constitution, which prohibits any form of discrimination. Importantlyaslo, the government’s seven-year plan (2010-2017) ensures that all sector ministries make reference to PWDs and include actions to provide them with services.
On an overall level, the second EDPRS 2 for 2013-2018 formally prioritises citizen participation and better service delivery.To implement the strategy, the government has developed the VISION 2020 UMURENGE (VUP). The programme has three components: direct support for the poorest households with no land or labour resources; public works employing households with labour resources to build community resources; and financial services to increase access to savings and credit and improve opportunities for non-agricultural income generation. The strategy adopts the sectors as the central implementing agency in conformity with a decentralization policy, adopted in 2001,which runs from the smallest Cell unit to the Province level. The ambition is that the majority of government programmes will be implemented by local government. This is especially true for the social service sector that includes vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities.[3]
Civil society organisations of people with disabilities have existed in Rwanda for about 40 years. In 2010, after lobbying by civil society, the government of Rwanda agreed to create a National Council for People with Disabilities (NCPD). NCPD is a government agency with representative structure at all levels of administration responsible for mainstreaming disability across government services and development programmes. Having a national council of persons with disabilities as a government body was a positive move by the government of Rwanda to try to get closer to PWDs. However, the Council is not always taking effective action and it also risks making it difficult for PWDs to have an independent voice to critic government service delivery to PWD. In response, civil disability organisations have organised themselves into NUDOR, the National Union of Disability Organisations in Rwanda, to serve as a coordinating and representative body for the movement and to build the capacity of member organisations.NUDOR has recently taken the lead in developing the ‘parallel report’ which will be submitted to the UN CRPD Committee in conjunction with the upcoming state review.
1.b Specific challenges faced by those groups of persons with disabilities, or their organisations, for whom the project aims to bring about change
The present project builds on achievements and learning from in particular the on-goingjoint RUB/DAB Empowerment Project (HP 129-037, coming to a close by end August 2017) but will – following recommendations in the external evaluation of this project– focus less on member empowerment and more on strategic advocacy and building of alliances besides financial sustainability. As such the present project represents the initial step in a gradual out-phasing of the long-term collaboration between RUB and DAB.
The overall problem that the project will address is continuously the general exclusion of blind and partially sighted persons from participating fully in Rwandan society. Although relevant programmes exist and the disability movement is getting better organized and coordinated, as described above, PWDs are still experiencing problems in accessing their rights and living independently. The reality they face is that the outreach of these programmes is limited and most PWDs are not reached. Instead, they have to mobilise sufficient social, economic, cultural and political resources to deal with their situation as well as they can, mainly by being empowered at both individual and family level, through disability organisations, organisations of parents or by participating personally in self-help groups.
Specifically, the project will address exclusion related to the educationaland socio-economic spheres; two areas which are expressed priorities for the RUB membership and where the political timing, especially as regards inclusive education, is opportune (refer further below). The lack of access to education and employment opportunities is caused by both structural and attitudinal barriers. The main,intertwined, causes are poverty;barriers related to ignorance/stigmatization among families, communities and decision makers; lack of confidence among BPS themselves;as well as the gap between legislation, implementation and disability mainstreaming as indicated above. These key problems affect PWDs from the individual to the organisational level.
As regards poverty, persons with disabilities – including BPS - represented among the poorest, and primarily among the rural poor.Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of disability. Poverty causes disability through malnutrition, poor health care and dangerous living conditions. In reverse, disability can cause poverty by preventing the full participation of PWDs in the economic and social life of their communities, especially if the proper support mechanisms are not available.PWDs have typically lower educational attainment and lower employment rates than persons without disability and disability is associated with a higher probability of being poor. Households in Rwanda with a disabled member have a poverty level 1,7 percent above the national average and 76,6 percent are either poor or vulnerable to living in poverty (World Bank).Poverty also provides a huge barrier for participation in local branch or community activities since the members often cannot afford membership or transportation costs to attend meetings or hire guides.
PWDs are both actively and passively excluded in Rwandan society, due to stigmatization or ignorance. PWDs are generally seen as objects of charity. Cultural beliefs and negative community attitudes are also reflected in the language used to refer to people with disabilities in Rwanda. In some rural areas, in particular, there is still little knowledge about reasons for disability. Many parents with children who have disabilities are abused and other family members look down on the parents, especially the mother and her child(ren), who may find themselves isolated from the family. Many children with disabilities are consequently hidden away.
Challenges related to access to education
Both poverty and stigmatization/ignorance and lack of awareness of PWD rightsamong families and local communities, including school staff and local authorities, are crucial barriers preventing children with vision impairment (CWVI) from going to school and accessing education.Further, there are currently only two primary schools for the blind in Rwanda (specialized residential schools) and two integrated schools on secondary level admitting a few blind students a year. The capacity is far from near enough to cater for the many blind children that RUB identifies as part of their work in the districts.[4]
Over the past five-eight years, the Rwandan government has taken a number of concrete efforts to promote education for PWDs. Among these, is the National Programme on the Promotion of the Rights of PWDs (2010-2019) which details efforts overseen by the Ministry of Local Government to reinforce action to promote Inclusive Education (IE), accessibility and full participation of PWDs. Also, the current five-year Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP, 2013-2018) takes into account the educational needs of young people with disabilities across all educational services (teacher training and management; curriculum development etc). This is a strategy which is reflected in the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) Policy on Inclusive Education and Special Needs (2013-2018), recently reviewed and to be approved in 2017. The latter commits the entire education sector and community at large to ensuring effective and good quality inclusive education services for learners with disabilities.
The overall vision is that all children should go to the nearest school. However, the vast majority of mainstream schools do not accommodate sufficiently for CWVI. Apart from limited infrastructure and mobility challengesalso faced by children with physical disability, CWVI need to be taught braille and there is a severe lack of trained braille teachers at all levels of education, including primary school, even if there is an on-going official process of developing an all-inclusive education at the College of Education.
Furthermore, lack of accessible learning materials and equipment – i.e. educational materials in braille, audio, large print, accessible scientific materials, perkinsbraillers etc. - remain a serious obstacle. There is no national resource center or place where the school can get adequate materials. This means that every school, which has one or more blind children among its pupils, tries to manage as well as it can, which however is often far too little.Bullying and social exclusion of CWVI in mainstream schools are additional challenges. Therefore, if CWVI are enrolled at all, the drop-out rate is very high.
In 2013, NUDOR carried out a report on the challenges facedby children with disabilities in basic education, which confirms the outlined challenges.[5]Education is an expressed priority for NUDOR which is actively engaged in various activities supporting inclusive education for PWDs in Rwanda, including attempts to establish ‘inclusive model schools’, supported by MyRight in Sweden and DPOD. The project will attempt to add to this work, as will be described later.
Despite the increased political efforts on promoting education in Rwanda, there remains a gap between policy commitments and the practice of inclusion in the education sector, something that has been acknowledged by the Rwandan government itself. And even if the challenges and barriers to CWVI accessing education are more or less clear, there areno comprehensive studiesproviding an analysis of the problem or a thorough assessment of the extent to which current Inclusive Education (IE) and Special Needs Education (SNE) policies provides for the needs of CWVI. Generally, there is a lack of quality disaggregated data and documentation in the area of disability, including on CWVI access to education.
Challenges relating to socio-economic empowerment
The lack of schooling and education is one main barrier for the socio-economic empowerment of BPS and this also extends to basic skills in Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and Active Daily Living Skills (ADL)[6]. As many RUB members live in isolation and are never subject to demands or different exercises in coping with everyday chores, they become dependent on others to complete even the simplest tasks. The confidence in their own abilities depends on the exposure to everyday life and thus confidence levels fall. Family members often prove a barrier to community participation as they overprotect their disabled relatives and do not allow them to participate in household activities or interact with neighbours and the community in general. Also, BPS are underestimated, neglected as families feel ashamed and some even chose to reject their blind family member. Thegeneral disempowerment of BPS is a central concern and a major barrier to participation in family life, local society, not to say participating in activities of the local branch and ultimately the readiness to engage duty bearers.
Rehabilitation of BPS has not been taken on as service to be provided by the Rwandan government. Currently, RUB is the only organisation carrying out rehabilitation of BPS. This is partly done at the Masaka Resource Center for the Blind (MRCB) which provides six months residential courses (training in mobility, braille, agricultural skills etc) for BPS, from 14 years of age, who have not previously been to school (MRCB is part of RUB but functions independently, refer Annex M for more information on MRCB). And partly RUB provides training in ADL, O&M and family member trainings for members at branches to the extent that finances allow. As concluded by the evaluation, RUB ‘continues to be an impressive organisation in empowering its members through training. Constant training and sensitization can change the mind-set of people in a positive way’ (Annex F, p.29, own highlight). The challenge is lack of resources to carry out the trainings, in particular since repeated trainings are needed, not least due to the low education level of members.
RUB has throughout the past years tried to use other centres and institutions to provide supplementary and relevant skills to members, in particular in terms of vocational training. In Rwanda there are few vocational training opportunities for RUB members and the majority find work within the informal sector - self-employment.[7] As part of the Empowerment Project, RUB has established collaboration with the government-run vocational training centre (VTC) – Nyanza VCT - and has catered for a number of trainees for them to learn to operate knitting machines. The aim has been to demonstrate that it is possible to design vocational training towards BPS and roll out the model to other VTCs. During the project, collaboration was as such established with a second VTC, the Ubumwe Community Centre. This experience, though being a first important step, needs to be further consolidated and rolled out, with a view to ensuring sustainability of both the VCT collaboration and the individual enterprises established after the training.
An additional challenge in regard to economic empowerment is that RUB members are not seen as credit-worthy by mainstream finance institutions and have as such limited access to financial services.[8]As part of the Empowerment Project, RUB has established collaboration with the Caritas-run, ‘Associations of Microfinance Institutions’ (RIM). The aim was, as a pilot, to facilitate access to RIM services - financial training and loan-taking – for five branches. However, this collaboration was initially coupled with a number of challenges, primarily linked to the circumstance that the selected branches preferred to make use of a Revolving Fund run by RUB for the past eight years. As mentioned in the evaluation report, RUB has therefore in a sense been competing with itself when trying to promote RIM loans (Annex F, p.7). In a preliminary attempt to resolve the situation, the services have been opened up to all RUB branches and currently three branches are engaged with RIM and two more in the pipeline.