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| Sunday, 25 September 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Navajeewana project a success by L. S. A. Wedaarachchi The Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Program for persons with disabilities, is being implemented successfully in southern Sri Lanka. It is estimated that over eight percent of the population in Sri Lanka are disabled with over ninety percent of those people unemployed and completely dependent on their families for support according to the United Nations Report on Disabled in Sri Lanka. 'Navajeewana,' a project to assist people with disability to start a new life in Tangalle town commenced its social mission in 1987. It has assisted more than two hundred thousand people and currently assists two-thousand-five-hundred disabled persons. According to the president of the Swiss Foundation for Navajeewana, Rudolf Gaubi, 'Navajeewana' which has become the main service provider to rehabilitate people with disabilities in southern Sri Lanka for the last eighteen years, is estimated to have the highest number of disabled persons in the country and this number constitutes about twenty percent of the population. 'Navajeewana's rehabilitation program is oriented towards the realisation of its objectives through five core operating units, namely community based rehabilitation, therapy and communication, prosthetics and orthotics, community mental health development and education. Elaborating on the activities of the five core operating units Gaubi's said community based rehabilitation (CBR) is at the heart of 'Navajeewana's approach. Prior to being identified and aided by a rehabilitation service provider, many of the disabled are confined to their homes. This is often due to the family members' ignorance of the options available to them and because of physical and financial constraints. In short CBR is about identifying those in need and facilitating and coordinating support from family care givers, specialist service providers, volunteers and the community in general, he said. Education operative unit consists of pre-schools for children with disabilities, awareness program for families, volunteers, local community and partner organisations. Last year 'Navajeewana' conducted over fifty community awareness programs reaching hundreds of people, on issues relating to disabilities and mental health. Work commenced in the first week of this month for a new building of a one stop centre for rehabilitation and social inclusion, at the present premises at Tangalle. At the request of the government and the community leaders, immediately after the tsunami devastation, 'Navajeewana' undertook a special project to rehabilitate Kudawella which consists of five Grama Niladari Divisions of the Tangalle Secretariat. Out of total population of 5,951 in Kudawella 2,244 were directly affected by the disaster with 56 deaths and five missing and 334 homes destroyed, according to the survey conducted by 'Navajeewana'. Kudawella also suffered severely as other coastal areas in Sri Lanka devastated causing severe economic damage. 'Navajeewana' has implemented an action program to provide intermediate and long-term benefits to rebuild the lives and livelihoods of five hundred and eighty two affected families in Kudawella within twenty two months. 'Navajeewana' strongly backed by the donor organisations in Europe
specially Switzerland, Germany and the UK. |
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