2. Current Situation of Persons with Disabilities

2.1 Definition and Classification

The legal definition of disability in Sri Lanka is that described in the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act as a person with disability means any person who, as a result of any deficiency in his physical or mental capabilities, whether congenital or not, is unable by himself to ensure for himself, wholly or partly, the necessities of life".

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the classification of types of disability used by the Ministry of Social Welfare for program development encompasses people who have visual, speech, hearing, mobility, intellectual, and psychiatric disability and disability arising as a result of epilepsy and other causes. It also encompasses multiple disabilities, which is a combination of two or more of these various disabilities in a single individual.

Categories of disability or questions used to identify persons with disabilities in the 2001 Census included the following:

• Disability in Seeing
  Totally Blind
  One eye blind
  Weak vision
• Disability in Hearing/Speaking
  Dumb; Deaf; Dumb and Deaf; Speaking difficulties
• Disability in Hands
  Loss of one hand including elbow
  Loss of both hands including elbows
  Loss of one hand below elbows
  Loss of both hands below elbows
  Paralysis of one hand
  Paralysis of both hands
  Other disability in one hand
  Other disability in both hands
• Disability in Legs
  Loss of one legs including knee
  Loss of both legs including knees
  Loss of one leg below knee
  Loss of both legs below knees
  Paralysis of one leg
  Paralysis of both legs
  Other disability in one leg
  Other disability in both legs
• Other Physical Disability
• Mental Disability
  Mentally retarded
  Psychosis

2.2 Government Policy and National Plan towards Persons with Disabilities

In August 2002, the Ministry of Social Welfare appointed a committee to draft a National Disability Policy. The policy includes strategies for health, vocational training employment, and poverty alleviation, which applies to all persons with disabilities, including those affected by armed conflict. The policy calls for a holistic approach involving community-based rehabilitation, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The Cabinet approved the National Disability Policy in August 2003 which is being implemented through the Ministry of Social Welfare and other ministries. Please refer to Appendix II for a full outline of the National Policy.

A summary of the National Policy is broken-down into the following Sections:

• Scope of Policy
• Socio-Economic Considerations
• Barriers to Inclusion
• Resources Available for Policy Implementation
• Policy Principles
• Sectoral Policies and Strategies for Inclusion
• Policies and Strategies to Ensure Holistic Implementation
• Partners in Implementation

Related to the Act of Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities was established in 1996 under the Ministry of Social Services. There are 15 members appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Social Services. In addition to the council members, there are some invited observers. They represent various institutions and departments working for persons with disabilities. Five sub-committees have been appointed to prepare plans regarding legal and financial matters, administration and to research mental retardation and hearing impairments.

2.3 Government System

Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Social Welfare

The Ministry is the main body responsible for the formulation of policies, guidelines, laws and work programs related to disability. The Ministry monitors and assists service and development of activities of both the governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Both the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and the National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities come under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Welfare.

• Provision of recognized vocational training and residential facilities
• Provision of employment opportunities
• Taking alternatives steps to provide equal educational opportunities
• Creating necessary environment for easy access
• Provision of material and financial assistance according to their needs
• Identification of persons with Disabilities by conducting surveys
• Reintegration of Persons with Disabilities into society
• Provision of equal opportunities and making them partners in economic development in terms of international declarations

The Ministries Departments and Statutory Institutions include the following areas:

• Department of Probation and Child Care Services
• Women's Bureau of Sri Lanka
• National Committee on Women
• Children's Secretariat
• Department of Social Services
• National Institute of Social Development (NISD)
• Office of the Sevana Sarana Foster Parent Scheme
• National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NSPD)
• National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities
• Social Security Board (SSB)
• National Secretariat for NGO National Disaster Management Center (NDMC)

The responsibilities and functions of the Ministry are as follows:

• Implementation of Policies, Plans and Programs in respect of Women's Affairs and Social Welfare
• Implementation of Policies and Programs for
  • The advancement of quality of life for Women
  • Increase participation in national development policies
• and other spheres of life
  • The promotion of gender equality and gender justice
• The implementation of the Women's charter
• Public Assistance
• Financial assistance to Tuberculosis and Leprosy patients and their relations
• Family Counseling Services
• Vocational training placement, employment counseling and rehabilitation of the Deaf, Dumb, Blind and the Orthopaedically handicapped
• Care and welfare of elders and the infirm including State Colleges and Voluntary Homes for Elders
• Supervision and registration of and assistance to Social Welfare Voluntary Agencies
• Old Age Social Insurance Pensions
• Social Insurance
• Administration of
  • Vagrants Ordinance
  • Houses of Detention Ordinance
  • Poor Law Ordinance (Chapter 141, Section 1)
• Formulation of policies and programs on early childhood development, coordinating such activities with the Provincial level Committees and Monitoring and follow-up Plans
• Family Affairs
• Care of the Aged
• Registration of Non-Governmental Agencies
• Coordination of the implementation of programs of Government and Non-Governmental Agencies for the achievement of National Objectives

National Council for Persons with Disabilities

The Council consists of 20 members appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Social Welfare including representatives of Disabled People's Organizations and disability-related organizations, which maintain at least 51% representation. Other representatives include relevant ministries, departments, professionals and NGOs. The role of the Council is to promote, advance and protect the rights of people with disabilities in Sri Lanka and to advise the Government on issues pertaining to people with disabilities. The Minister of Social Welfare is the Chairman of the Council and the Ministry Secretary is the Secretary of the Council. The National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities was established in 1995 to implement the decisions of the Council.

Ministry of Employment and Labour

The Ministry of Employment and Labour has an increasing role in ensuring people with disabilities are put into the mainstream employment pool.

The Ministry is preparing for the implementation of a new National Employment Policy which will include people with disabilities into mainstream training and employment systems such as the Human Resource Placement Service. The Department of Labour has begun collecting data on people with disabilities seeking employment. The data collected will assist the Department in planning and programming in the future.

The Ministry will emphasize influencing private sector enterprises to employ people with disabilities and promoting the public sector to fulfill its responsibility to implement a 3% quota system.

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Employment and Labour in January 2003 launched the National Employment and Delivery System (ESDS) which is a fully computerized national job referral system. Along with other job seekers, PWDs are able to register at a Jobs Net Center. The National Jobs Net Scheme is being implemented as a partnership between the Ministry and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce with the private sector.

Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health has created the post of Director for the improvement of health care facilities for People with Disabilities.

Ministry of Tertiary Education and Training2

The Ministry is responsible for vocational training policies and programs. It operates six vocational training institutions as well as a project specifically for skills development. The Ministry operates training courses in 252 training centers in the private sector 2 5rand 112 in conjunction with NGOs. Special arrangements have been made by the Sri Lanka Army for disabled ex-servicemen to be given vocational training at these centers.

2.4 Regional Cooperation

Sri Lanka actively participates in promoting, facilitating and sharing its experiences with other countries through various regional training programs and conferences. According to UNESCAP, examples of regional cooperation are as follows:

• Hosing of the "International Training Course on CBR" organized by the Disabilities Studies Unit of the medical faculty of Kelaniya University
• Training of Japanese and Malaysian CBR personnel in India and of Indonesian personnel in Sri Lanka
• Establishment of a South Asian CBR network office in Sri Lanka to facilitate regional cooperation
• Hosting of South Asian CBR network meetings
• Hosting of a sub-regional workshop on inclusive education

Representatives of the Sri Lanka Government, through the Department of Social Services, the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Deputy Permanent Representative to ESCAP, Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka participated in the Seminar for South-to-South Cooperation for Decades of People with Disabilities: An orientation about APCD in December 2003 in Bangkok Thailand. A Country Report was presented by S. Millawithanachchi, Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Wilson Silva, Assistant Director Ministry of Social Welfare at the Seminar.

2.5 Statistics Data

In the 2001 Population and Housing Census a section was included to gather information on PWDs, which was collected on a separate "Disability Schedule". The Census principally gathered the following information:

• Sex
• Date of Birth
• Educational Attainment
• Disability Type
• Age of Disability Occurrence
• Cause of Disability
• Living in an institution
• Principal means of livelihood
• Vocational Training
• Occupation

The following table highlights the results of the 2001 Census which indicates that there were 274,711 people who responded to the Census as having disabilities (1.6% of the total population). Males had a predominately higher rate of disability at approximately 58% versus 42% being female.

People with Disabilities who responded to the 2001 Census indicated the type of disability they had, including multiple forms of disabilities. It is therefore that the number of people with disabilities in Table 11 does not total the 274,711 respondents of the 2001 Census. The highest indication of the type of disability people encountered was reported as a disability in their legs totaling approximately 25% of the total responses.

2.6 law and Legislation

Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, No.28 of 1996

The Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was passed in 1996 in order to promote the advancement and protection of the rights of Persons with Disabilities (see Appendix I for a complete copy of the Act).

Since 1989 a "National Council for Coordinating the Work of Disability Organizations" was appointed by the Minister of Social Services. With stimulation being provided by the Sri Lanka Office of the Swedish Handicapped Organization International Aid Foundation (SHIA), discussions started within this Coordinating Council about the necessity for legal provision to safeguard the Rights of People who have Disabilities.

Accordingly, a Technical Sub-Committee was established with the membership consisting largely of people who have disabilities. The Organizations represented included the Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Impaired, National Council for the Blind, Central Council for the Deaf, Sri Lanka Association of Physically Handicapped Technicians, Sri Lanka Association for the Mentally Retarded (which has a large representation of parents in its membership), other non-governmental organizations working in the disability field, and the various line Ministries.

The Act provides the necessary legislation to implement the national policy on rehabilitation. The Act established a "National Council for Persons with Disabilities" and gave it a legal status to take action regarding all matters concerning "the Promotion, Advancement and Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities".

The Minister of Health, Highways and Social Services is the Chairman of the Council. On his recommendation twenty members are appointed to the Council by the President of Sri Lanka - 11 representing people who have disabilities and their organizations or institutions, and nine from among members of the Parliament, Provincial Councils or Local Authorities, professionals, and public officers. The Secretary of the Ministry is the Secretary of the Council.

The Act five major provisions:

1. Establishment of a National Council for Persons with Disabilities
   • The purpose of the Council is to take any and all necessary actions to promote and safeguard the interests of people who have disabilities, which include initiating, implementing and sponsoring programs to meet their needs, monitoring and evaluating State and NGO activities, recommending policy and research, information collection and dissemination. The Act empowers the Council to work autonomously in all these activities
2. Establishment of a "National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities"
   • This is the implementing arm of the Council. Its proposed organizational structure, represented in Fig. 1, describes the manner in which it aims at fulfilling its role of carrying out the Council policy and strategy.
3. Establishment of a "National Fund for Persons with Disabilities"
   • The National Fund deals with all the financial transactions of the Council, both receiving funds voted by the Parliament for the use of the Council donations, aid and grants, and paying out all such finances required for expenditure by the Council.
4. Registration of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
   • All NGOs working in the disability field are required, under the Act, to be registered with the Council. Fears that this is a repressive measure are unfounded. This provision has been made to give the Council the necessary powers to prevent the exploitation of individuals who have disabilities and disabilities itself. It will also no doubt be valuable in enabling the Council to facilitate coordination between the State and NGO sectors.
5. Protection of Individual Rights
   • The fifth major provision deals with individual rights, making particular mention of discrimination in employment and educational aspects and access to public places. It also describes legal measures that may be taken in instances where individuals have been discriminated against, empowering Provincial level Judicial Institutions to deal with such matters, and gives the Council powers to act on behalf of individuals when necessary.

Ranaviru Seva Act

The Ranaviru Seva Act was passed in 1999 and provides for the care and rehabilitation of members of the armed forces and police force who have become disabled in the line of duty. The Act promotes the welfare of members of the armed forces and police with disabilities and their dependents. The main features of the legislation provides housing, medical care, access to basic and higher education through scholarships and other forms of assistance such as securing gainful employment and establishing industrial, agricultural and commercial ventures.

Public Administration Circular No. 27/88

The Circular was produced in 1988 and provides for vacancies in the public service and public companies for People with Disabilities. The Circular states that 3% of the vacancies should be filled with people with disabilities possessing requisite qualifications and whose disability would not be a hindrance to the performance of duties.

Trust Fund Act for the Rehabilitation of the Visually Handicapped

The Act was passed in 1992 for the protection and welfare of People with Disabilities and provides the following:

1. Provision of education and vocational training facilities for persons with visual impairments to create employment opportunities.
2. Provision of financial assistance and guidance for the self-employed.
3. Provision of housing facilities.
4. Implementation of schemes for the welfare of persons with visual impairments.
5. Provision of facilities for the marketing of products manufactured by persons with visual impairments.
6. Actions to eliminate conditions that prevent the visually impaired from gaining equal rights and opportunities.

2.7 Social Services

The Government provides a welfare package through the "Samurdhi" program for the poor. It is an income transfer program. Approximately 2.3 million families received Samurdhi assistance in 2000. The Government has drawn a welfare benefit law to de-politicize and better target the provision of social assistance due to the need to improve and meet the needs of a social safety net for people who have been laid off.

The labor laws do not mandate accessibility to buildings or government services for the disabled. The Social Services Ministry has selected job placement officers to help the estimated 200,000 work-eligible disabled persons to find jobs. In spite of these efforts, the disabled still face difficulties because of negative attitudes and discrimination. In 1996, Parliament passed legislation forbidding discrimination against any person on the grounds of disability.

Social Security Board Act No. 17 of 1996

The Act established a social security board for the management of social security benefits for the self-employed. The Act also provides a pension and insurance benefits to Persons with Disabilities in the case of accidents and old age.

Employees Trust Fund

Employees contribute 3% of their wages to this fund, which provides financial payments to employees in the event of disability. Benefits include scholarships to schools for the children of its members.

2.8 Medical Services, Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices

Rehabilitation

The prime medical rehabilitation facility in Sri Lanka is at the Ragama Rehabilitation Hospital which provides the following functions:

• Improvement of functional status
• Advising on the nature of professions PWDs can pursue and what type of professions should be avoided given the condition of the individual
• Assisting an employer in job recruitment of PWDs
• Attending to medical complications that may develop in PWDs while they work
• Making adaptations
• Advising employees with disabilities on how to prevent accidents

Assistive Devices

According to the National Policy on Disability, the most commonly used tools and equipment by people who have mobility disability include tricycles, wheelchairs, artificial limbs and crutches and other walking aids. According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, only 35% of individuals who feel that a tricycle or a wheelchair would be of use to them had such devices. The demand for artificial legs remains because of the prevalence of amputees among those who have been in combat, the possibility of more landmine victims in the future and the probable increase in amputees as a consequence of chronic illnesses such as Diabetes. Further, amputees require artificial legs for the duration of their life, usually to be renewed every 3 years or so.

A Braille press was established at the National Institute of Education, Maharagama, in order to produce Braille versions of textbooks prescribed by the Department of Education. In 1998 the School for the Blind at Ratmalana set up a recording studio to produce teaching material on cassettes. In 2002, the Sri Lanka Council of Blind Graduates also commenced the production of talking books. The Council concentrates on producing teachers' handbooks for various subjects, and had recorded over 40 handbooks. In 2000, the Sri Lanka National Federation of the Visually Handicapped commenced the brailling of the textbooks prescribed for Dhamma schools, using Perkins Braillers, and currently have 10 books covering grades 1-10. A Braille library was formed in 2001 by the Federation with funds from the Sri Lanka Christian Association in London. There are currently 125 Sinhala titles and 25 books in English.

The Daisy Lanka Foundation

The Daisy Lanka Foundation was established in 2004 which was provided a grant to purchase computers, CD duplicators, Braille embossers and screen reading software. Two members of the foundation attended the International Trainers' Training in Bangkok in January 2005.

2.9 Community Based Rehabilitation

The Community Based Rehabilitation Programme

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Sri Lanka Government decided to implement the Community Based Rehabilitation Programme under the Ministry of Social Welfare as a full fledged program directly financed by the government, after observing several years' progress as a pilot project which was considered a successful and timely method to apply in rehabilitating PWDs.

The CBR Programme aims at placing the entire responsibility of rehabilitation of PWDs on the community. In order to facilitate these activities, a committee known as "Rural Rehabilitation Committee" is established at the village level with participation of village officials, community members, trained volunteers, and members selected from families with PWDs.

The Ministry of Social Services implements the CBR Programme with the cooperation of various Ministries, Departments and Institutions. At the national level, the National CBR Steering Committee consists of members from the Ministry of Social Services, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Plan and Implementation, Ministry of Defense, Department of Social Services, the national Institute of Education, the National Secretariat for the Persons with Disabilities, WHO, the United Nations Child Care Fund, the SHIA Foundation, Nava Jeewana Institution and the Sarvodaya Institution. The Committee plans and coordinates activities obtaining the services as required for the welfare and rehabilitation of PWDs from the Ministries, Departments and other Institutions.

Under the CBR Programme, trained volunteers identify PWDs through home visits while obtaining assistance from the PWDs families and the community. Resources existing in divisional districts, provincial and national levels are diverted for the rehabilitation of PWDs. The program is implemented at the grass-roots, rural level. During the first stage, social services officers and field officers of the Divisional Secretariat are given 18 days training enabling them to establish a village committee and hold awareness programs to select volunteer's workers through the village committee.

The volunteer workers are then given 12 days training through the trained divisional level officers. The trained volunteers then identify PWDs through home visitations and directing them to relevant clinics for diagnoses and the provision of necessary services.

Fridsro Project

Fridsro Children's Home is the first home for children that was established by the Fridsro group in 1972. The Fridsro Project, founded in 1994, works for and on behalf of the disabled population of Sri Lanka. They work closely with the National CBR Programme and also are the only NGO representative to the National Steering Committee on the Rights of the Disabled. Additionally, they are also a member of the Government Policy Planning Committee for the rights and responsibilities of the disabled.

Particular strategies that the Fridsro Community Based Rehabilitation Project focuses on include the following:

• Individual and family support provided within the home to promote and protect the right to family life and to strengthen their capacity to address their other rights.
• Knowledge, skills, advice, counseling and information made available to individuals, their families and communities so that they will be able to promote and protect the rights of their members who have disability and facilitate their maximum possible individual development and independent living.
• Social inclusion in daily family and community environment, including participation and development, recreational, leisure and cultural activities.
• Opportunities for each individual to develop his/her personality and potential to the fullest. This includes developing talents in the creative and performing arts such as song, dance, creative writing and skills ranging from basic motor skills to skills in physical activities and sports. It also includes opportunities for each individual to develop his/her personality through participation in community groups and taking leadership in community organizations.
• Formation of peer groups, self-advocacy organizations and parents associations.
• 2-way channels for referral development between the individual living at home and social development and community support systems, and particularly those included in this policy (such as employment, skills training, poverty alleviation, health social security etc) in keeping with the rights of every citizen to public service.

Basic Needs Sri Lanka

BasicNeeds Sri Lanka focuses on demonstrating that people with mental illnesses can actively participate in the development process. BasicNeeds conducts its activities through field interventions in partnership with people with mental illness - not excluding other community members.

The first field project began in September 2002 in Angunakolapelessa which has the highest suicide rate in the Southern Province. The implementing partner is Navajeevana - a community-based organization (CBO) working with people with disabilities. The project adapted the BasicNeeds' Community Mental Health and Development model to the rural Sri Lanka context (in a post-conflict situation). A unique feature was that mentally ill people and community members volunteered to form a village development committee to help BasicNeeds and Navajeevana implement the work.

BasicNeeds worked closely with community-based organizations and resource institutions in the development and mental health sectors to sensitize and capacitate them to form partnerships with mentally ill people.

Dr. Hiranthi de Silva, Director - Mental Health of the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Uva Wellassa Development of Sri Lanka, spoke about the Community Mental Health Module developed by BasicNeeds using the existing state resources in the mental health and primary health care sectors, at the International Conference on Mental Health and Substance Dependence in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference was organized by the Mental Health Department of the Ministry of Health, Thailand with assistance from the WHO.

Examples of the achievements of BasicNeeds are as follows:

• Reduction of stigma due improved community understanding on mental illness and related myths
• Increased access to psychotropic drugs and mental health services at primary health care level
• Clinics at primary health care level conducted by government medical officers.
• Community involvement in organizing clinics and follow-up work through a network of village volunteers, trained in the basics in mental health at the National Mental Hospital, Angoda
• Monthly mental health camps run by a multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals from the National Mental Hospital, Angoda
• A Provincial Forum for Community Mental Health was established involving practitioners, village mental health and development committees and consumer advocates, in partnership with the Southern Provincial Directorate of the Health Services and Mental Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Uva Wellassa Development

2.10 Independent Living Movement

There are currently no organizations that formally promote or practice Independent Living in Sri Lanka. Although CBR is carried out throughout the Island, no other major empowerment programs have been implemented.

2.11 Public Awareness

According to UNESCAP, The International Day of Disabled persons is commemorated annually by the Ministry of Social Welfare with the aim of promoting awareness among the general public and to eradicate negative attitudes towards PWDs. The Sri Lanka print and electronic media have also provided much coverage of activities and issues related to the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and the Asian and Pacific Decade Agenda for Action. Sri Lanka also promotes the causes of PWDs through workshops, seminars, various sporting events for PWDs

2.12 Sports

Based on The National Policy on Disability for Sri Lanka, people who have disabilities will participate in sports activities of their choice like their peers for both recreational and competitive purposes.

The National Policy highlights that state and private organizations responsible for sports, starting at school level and continuing through all levels of administration will, in particular,

• recognizing their abilities, include events for categories of people who have particular disabilities in all public sports activities (such as events for wheelchair users, events those who cannot see, etc).
• adapt existing sports rules and methodologies where necessary so that the participation of people who have disability and the inclusion of special events for them in public sports is made possible and is recognized (such as in athletics for people who cannot hear and cricket for those who cannot see).
• make accessible to people who have disability all the facilities they provide including those for training so that they will have opportunities to develop their special aptitudes in sports
• encourage and facilitate the participation of people with disability who have reached required standards to participate in international events
• include disability as a module in the training of sports personnel including coaches, referees and trainers
• promote the employment of suitable qualified individuals who have disability as coaches, referees and trainers and as staff cadres in Sports Academies
• consider the special needs of people who have disability in relevant sports research

Implementation of the policy and strategies listed above extend to Sports Bodies such as National Federations of the various sports.

The Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Handicapped hosts and sponsors PWDs to attend the international cricket games for blind people. Additionally, Sri Lanka actively participates at the Abilympics.

Biwako Millennium Framework Seven Priority Areas:

2.13 Self-help Organizations of persons with disabilities and related family and parents associations

The Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Handicapped (SLFVH) is not the only organization of blind people in Sri Lanka. There is another, known as the Sri Lanka National Federation of the Visually Handicapped, and a Blind Graduates' Association. According to the latest figures available to SLFVH, there are approximately 70,000 blind people in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Handicapped was established in 1974 and its membership is comprised entirely of people with visual impairments. In 1981 SLFVH hosted a joint meeting of the Asian Committees of the former World Council for the Welfare of the Blind and the International Federation of the Blind in Colombo. Currently the total membership of SLFVH is approximately 3,200 members. Goals of the SLFVH are as follows:

Long-term Goals:

• To obtain a particular job allocation covering public and private sector organizations, for people with visual impairment
• To gain government recognition of the value and skills of people with visual impairment
• To function as the coordinating body between people with visual impairment, the State and other non-governmental organizations working for the cause of people with visual impairment
• To serve as a strong and effective voice of people with visual impairment
• To ensure for people with visual impairments equal status as free citizens in their country
• To guarantee for people with visual impairment equal opportunities in the fields of education and employment

Short-term goals

• To educate the leadership to uphold the rights of people with visual impairment
• To provide leadership training to members
• To gain recognition for the organization both at home and abroad
• To participate in local and foreign forums that discusses the needs and aspirations of people with visually impairment
• To rehabilitate and educate every blind citizen
• To win for commuters with visual impairment a concession on the use of the public transport system

2.14 Women with Disabilities

The Sri Lana constitution guarantees freedom of speech, expression and association and while there are no laws that promote women's participation in local government, the constitution stipulates that no person shall be discriminated against on the grounds of gender. There is also a special provision for the advancement of women, children and disabled persons.

Production Center for Visually Disable Women

The Center accommodates 10 destitute women who have visual impairments and was established in 2002 in Seeduwa. The Center is supported financially by the Visually Handicapped Trust Fund. Textile-based products produced are marketed through the sales in outlet stores of the Department of Social Services Vocational Training Centers in Seeduwa.

Aabathitha Athi Kanthavange Sanvidanaya (AKASA)
Association of Women with Disabilities

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), AKASA was formed in 1995 as a self-help support group devoted to creating opportunities for its members. AKASA has evolved into a network of women's groups in the district of Anuradhapura, located in the north-central section of Sri Lanka. AKASA receives financial support from the Swedish Handicapped International Aid Foundation (SHIA) and other funding agencies. For the period of 2000 to 2002, SHIA provided US$20,000 for AKASA's activities. Members are primarily rural women aged 18 to 40 years old. It has approximately 800 active individual members in 133 small groups in 10 sub-districts. AKASA is a member of the District NGO Forum and is the only disability-related member organization among the forum's 54 NGOs.

Vocational training and income-generating activities
Vocation Training Centre for Rural Women

In the first year of the AKASA Vocational Training Centre, 8 trainees graduated, of which 3 continue to work at the training centre, while 2 are self-employed and one works in a garment factory. During 2002, 15 trainees completed the training course of which each received a cow as a donation from an NGO in the district. Three out of the 15 are employed in garment factories and three received sewing machines for use in self-employment. 16 new trainees were recruited in June 2003.

Income Generation for Poverty Alleviation

The ILO estimates that through AKASA's programs, individual women's economic status has improved by 20 to 55%. The average monthly income for a woman ranges from 998 rupees to 6,365 rupees for self-employment activities that include animal husbandry, carpentry, bicycle repair, dressmaking, inland fishing and fish net weaving.

According to the ILO, some of the lessons learned through their experiences include:

Grassroots decision making encourages empowerment. Through the involvement of its members in all decision making relating to AKASA projects, members have increased their self-confidence in making decisions about their lives.

Informal support networks encourage peer counseling. AKASA members help one another cope with daily life. Through the sharing of insights and new ideas among members helps individuals deal with their difficulties.

Working in a difficult and under-serviced area can encourage donor funding. Through AKASA's implementation of its pilot projects under severe socio-economic conditions, AKASA demonstrated the capacity of rural disabled persons to change their situation. According to the ILO, AKASA has dispelled several myths about first, the helplessness of women, second, the helplessness of rural women and third, the helplessness of rural women with disabilities.

2.15 Early Detection, Intervention and Education

Early Detection / Prevention

The National Health Policy enacted in 1996 provides for the improvement of the quality of life by reducing preventable diseases, running health programs on disability and emphasizes the positive aspects of good health and sanitary habits in preventing disabilities. Additionally, the National Health Policy provides for early childhood development of children with disabilities in rehabilitation. The Early childhood Development Centers for children provide for individual services, pre-schools, house visits, assistance devices, parental counseling and awareness for children suffering from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, manic depressive psychosis, organic psychosis, drug-induced psychosis and acute transient psychotic disorders.

Programs have been created to reduce nutritional deficiencies among mothers and children as well as provide healthcare that is more accessible to the communities of Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Health has created the post of "Director" for the improvement of healthcare facilities for PWDs.

Education

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Sri Lanka has had a tradition of paying particular attention to the education of children who have disability since 1912 when the first School for the Deaf and Blind began. In the early 1970s the Ministry of Education began increasing educational opportunities for children through integrated education schemes. Presently, children who have disabilities obtain an education in government schools either through inclusion in ordinary classrooms or through special education units attached to ordinary schools. Children who either by choice or due to special situations, attend Special Schools run by NGOs and the private sector. However, according to the Ministry of Social Welfare, there is still a proportion of children who have disability who are unable to begin school. Children who have more severe degrees of multiple disabilities and/or intellectual disability are not unable to integrate as the education system, both state and private lack the expertise and capacity to handle them.

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Annual School Census indicates that by far the larger number of students with disabilities attended government schools and mainstream classrooms. In 2001, with a total student population of 4.2 million, there were 99,024 students who were reported as having a disability in ordinary classrooms translating to a 2.37% participation rate. Based on a Preliminary Annual School Census completed in 2003 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, only 1.49% of students were classified as having disabilities of which over 60% where males while the remaining 40% were female.

The following table highlights the results of the Preliminary School Census 2003 results:

Impact of the General Educational Reforms of 1997

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the General Educational Reforms of 1997 introduced the inclusion of children who have disabilities in the ordinary classroom. Changes in classroom teaching changed to be learner-centered and group and activity-based, development of practical and technical skills, co-curricular activities, counseling and career guidance, school-based management and new strategies for teacher education, all benefit children who have disabilities in inclusive education.

Another feature that is of benefit to children who have disability is that it requires every child entering primary school to be assessed, with parental involvement, by both a medical officer and the class-teacher. These assessments must be maintained on a continuous basis and are cumulative for each child until, at present, they complete primary school. This Standard Assessment and Record Form provides clearly for the identification of children who have disability, and is therefore a manifestation of the implicit policy of inclusion that is practiced in Sri Lanka. The Assessment does not encourage labeling, but rather enables the teacher to practice child-centered teaching methods that address each child's particular problems. Teaching methodology is such that it can benefit each child who has disability. It requires however effective, appropriate and relevant preliminary and continuous training of all schoolteachers. Teacher Training

Teacher Training for Inclusive Education has also seen advances in recent years with the following activities being undertaken by the National Institute of Education:

• Preliminary and continuous education of In-Service Adviser (ISAs or Master Trainers) in Primary Education and in Inclusive Education as "Trainers of Trainers"
• Training of "Inclusive Education" Zonal Officers for administration and to provide follow up and monitoring
• Preparation of curricula for the training of all these cadres as well as for schoolteachers and other cadres that will be trained by these Master Trainers
• Preparation of curricula for the training of specialist or resource teachers in Inclusive Education at the National Colleges of Education
• Preparation of teaching-learning materials for all these groups
• Preparation of teaching-learning materials to meet the special problems of primary schoolchildren who have disability, in keeping with the Education Reforms of 1997
• Degree and Post-Graduate Degree courses in Special Education

Besides these activities carried out by the NIE, a 3-year Course to produce Resource Teachers for Inclusive Education has been started at the Hapitigama National College of Education, Mirigama.

The training of "Special Education Teachers" also takes place at the Teachers College, Maharagama through 2-year Courses. These teachers serve mostly in non-government schools.

Fridsro Training Center

Fridsro Training Center provides facilities and resource personnel to conduct various types of training seminars, meetings or conferences. The following are some of the training programs that are provided:

• Training of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Community Volunteer workers
• Training of CBR Community Leaders
• Training of individuals with disabilities
• Skills development and training for children with disabilities who are unable to attend school (6 month course)
• Vocational training for young people with disabilities
• Training of personnel at Divisional, District Provincial and National levels who are engaged in CBR activities
• Workshops for Government and non-governmental organizations

International Christian Academy (ICA)

ICA was opened in September 2003 for children at Fridsro Children's Home. ICA not only provides the children with a Christian education but all classes are conducted in English. Providing the children with an English education will give them more opportunities to excel in life in the future.

Computer Learning Centers

Fridsro has opened two Computer Learning Centers. These centers are set up with a lecture hall and a computer lab with ten computers. Classes on basic computer knowledge are provided for unemployed youth in the surrounding villages. After completing a three-month course, the youth are given a certificate in computer education which will allow them better job opportunities. Fridsro also provides computer education to four government schools that would otherwise not have the opportunity for this type of education

2.16 Training and Employment

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, The Department of Social Services is the state body responsible for providing vocational training to PWDs. Services are provided in segregated situations in six centers run directly by the Department. A further 11 are operated by NGOs who are registered with the Department. Together they have a total capacity of 925 places at any one time. Grants of Rs40/day per trainee are paid by the Department to the NGOs. Partnerships with the NGOs increase the number of places available for vocational training by 70%.

The Department of Social Services serves as the link between job candidates and prospective employers by maintaining a register of job seekers. Success is achieved primarily through the placement of graduates of courses in industrial sewing and air-conditioning / refrigeration. Skills such as carpentry, textile, weaving, agriculture, cane work and coir work is difficult to secure employment and as such self-employment is often the only option available. It is therefore, that the Department of Social Services provide a toolkit to a maximum value of Rs10,000 per individual.

A "Directory of Tertiary Education and Vocational Training Instructions" is published by the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission which lists 920 vocational training institutions throughout Sri Lanka. These include 556 in the public sector, 252 in the private sector and 112 in the NGO sector. The largest organization providing vocational training is the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka with a network of 145 centers distributed throughout Sri Lanka with many in rural areas. Additionally, the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority has approximately 20,000 trainees at any one time.

The National Policy on Disability states that people who have disability, both men and women, will have their right to work fulfilled and highlights the following in its Policy:

1. They will have a free choice of employment in both the public and private sectors. To this end, the following are areas of focus:
   • They shall not be discriminated against in Employment and in Employment Support Services. They will have equal opportunity in Employment Placement Services, including Data Banks, for both wage and self-employment in the formal and informal sectors.
   • An enabling environment will be created for employers to accept people who have disability in their workforce by providing them with incentives. Such incentives may be in the form of tax concessions or other methods that have been used successfully in other countries
   • Employers will adopt a strategy for managing disability issues in the workplace as an integral part of their overall institutional policy and one which contributes to business success. The strategy will be linked to employee assistance programs where they exist
   • The Employers' strategy will ensure that people who have disability are treated equally with non-disabled workers in terms of conditions of work, remuneration, continuing training and life-long learning and in other benefits in kind such as transport and housing.
   • In considering certain applicants for jobs, employers will make simple but necessary adjustments and adaptations to the workstation and facilitate communication and accessibility in the workplace and work area to enable people who have disability to carry out the job using all their ability so that output will be maximized.
   • Where employers are not immediately able to employ a person, they could consider providing work-based experience to job seekers that have disability. This will enable the latter to acquire the skills, knowledge and work attitude required for a specific job in the workplace. Such work place experience can help make the job seekers skills more relevant to the employer's requirements when the time comes for employment.
   • In other situations, workers with disability may not be able to leave their home and come to places of work. Employers will consider the possibility of suitable work for contracting, selecting tasks that will be beneficial to both the worker and employer.
   • Employers will seek to cooperate with available counseling and guidance services in matching job seekers who have disability to jobs suited to their ability, work capacity and interest
   • The recognition of the employability of people who have disability will be promoted by, for instance, employing those with suitable skills, aptitudes and qualifications to managerial and technical cadres.
   • Employers' Organizations and Trade Unions will act as advocates among their members for the promotion of employment opportunities for people who have disability through reducing negative images and perceptions among employers and workers and for job retention for those who acquire disability while in employment.
   • Disability will be included as a module in Workers Education so that they may be more willing to accept fellow-workers who have disability
   • Personnel of job placement and support services such as counseling and guidance will be equipped to meet special needs of people who have disability
   • Recruitment processes will encourage applications from as many qualified people who have disability as possible.
2. The Employers Federation of Ceylon will convene and sustain a forum to promote the policy and strategies listed in this document related to creating and maintaining work opportunities for people who have disability in the private sector. As well as its own membership and management, this Forum will have representation from Disability Organizations and Trade Unions and relevant State sectors.
3. Programs and Projects which facilitate and support self-employment including entrepreneurship training, micro-credit and extension and marketing programs will include a reasonable proportion of people who have disability.

Vocational Training and Skills Development

Possession of vocational skills increases significantly an individual's chance of earning an adequate income, whether it be in wage or self-employment, in the formal or informal sectors.

1. 1. Young persons and adults who have disability, both male and female, shall not be discriminated against in mainstream vocational training and skills development programs.
2. The following strategies will ensure equal opportunity in mainstream vocational training and skills development;
   • Disability will not be a barrier to vocational training and skills development provided that applicants and trainees fulfill the required entry criteria and conditions
   • Available vocational counseling and guidance services will advise applicants who have disability, should they so wish, on the suitability of their choice of vocational training and skills development and future mode of livelihood
   • In selecting applicants for vocational training and skills development, consideration will be given to the abilities of the individual to undertake training in the particular skill of his/her choice rather than his/her disability
   • Available placement and employment support services for both wage and self-employment, including entrepreneurship training, will be accessible to people who have disability
   • Personnel of Vocational Training Institutions and Skills Development Programs will be equipped to meet special needs of people who have disability
   • Adaptations for accessibility and facilitation of communication will be made when necessary to training situations to meet special needs of people who have disability
   • The recognition of the employability of people who have disability will be promoted by, for instance, employing those with suitable skills, aptitudes and qualifications as training instructors and in other staff cadres
3. 2. Existing vocational training institutions which at present provide training exclusively to people who have disability will be suitably adapted and developed to accommodate individuals who have very special needs resulting from more severe disability, and cannot be included in mainstream institutions.

Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC)

The EFC Employer Network on the Disabled initiated with assistance of the ILO is directed towards facilitating employment/vocational training of disabled individuals. Involving the disabled in the productive labour market is not a mere social responsibility but a proactive form of tapping talent from all sectors of the labour market for productive employment. For the mutual benefit of the disabled and the business community, the EFC network on the disabled invites employers to peruse the data of the disabled registered with them for employment or vocational training opportunities.

This Network on Disability Project was an initiative of the Employer's Federation of Ceylon with the International Labour Organization to train the disabled and provide them with suitable employment in the private sector. The Project is a program geared toward gathering information on PWDs who are unemployed or trainable. The program was coordinated by EFC by appointing Skills Lanka Ltd. as consultants to collect information and data on PWDs throughout Sri Lanka, along with data on Institutes willing to train these people's skills, which are vital to acquire jobs in the private sector

Sri Lanka Foundation for Rehabilitation for the Disabled

The Foundation manages "Rehab Lanka" which is a workshop providing employment for persons with disabilities. The workshop has three sections which focus on tailoring, welding and carpentry. People with disabilities manage the workshop and a percentage of the profits are distributed amongst the employees. Employment is usually given to youth who have completed training at vocational training centers operated by the Department of Social Services. The employees remain at the workshop in order to gain experience in practical skills as apprentices and then move into the work force.

2.17 Access to Built Environment and Public Transportation

The National Policy on Disability provides for the following guidelines for build environments:

1. (1). People who have disability, especially wheelchair users and those who have no sight, will have increased freedom of movement and be able to use more services through accessibility to public buildings, barrier-free public pathways, parks, restrooms, lifts and stairs and other facilities. These will be constructed and adapted in keeping with regulations regarding accessibility to people who have disability prepared by the Ministry of Social Welfare. The guidelines will be reviewed and updated at regular intervals.
2. Strategies to improve accessibility to the built environment will include the following.
   • The design and installation of barrier-free public pathways for the safety and independence of all, and especially of wheelchair users and of those who cannot see
   • The design and adaptation of public buildings so that they are accessible to all, and especially to wheelchair users and to those who cannot see.
3. Buildings that have to comply with accessibility requirements are all new public buildings which include governmental facilities and institutions, office buildings, residential buildings, commercial buildings, health facilities, educational institutions, training institutions, libraries, restaurants, hotels, recreational facilities, sports facilities and religious buildings. All public areas such as banks, shops, waiting areas, transit areas customs areas, baggage halls, booking halls, inquiry offices and all other building types normally used by the general public are also included.
   • Where existing public buildings and other facilities listed in the preceding paragraph are concerned, the highest degree of accessibility will be provided within a time frame to be specified by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.
   • Schools and educational and training institutions which children, youth and adults may wish to gain entrance to will be made accessible.
   • Work areas and industrial buildings where people who have disability may seek employment will be made accessible.
   • For historic buildings, impossible to adapt to suit the requirements of people who have disability without affecting the historical character, the challenge is to find alternative solutions or other innovative methods that do not conflict with preservation requirements. However, under all circumstances the character of a historical building should be preserved. Any modification that seriously harms its character, material, features or spaces is not envisaged.
4. Other areas of the National Policy on Disability address measurements to improve accessibility to all persons who have a disability whether local or foreign and desire to travel throughout Sri Lanka. Please see Appendix II for a complete listing of the National Policy on Disability.
5. According to the National Policy on Disability, the following areas were highlighted as priority areas in regards to public transportation systems:
6. (1). Public transport systems will be more accessible to people who have disability. People who have disability will have greater freedom of movement by bus, rail, and water transport. They will so be able to travel to and from schools and places of work, and to participate in a wider variety of social, cultural, political, sports and recreational activities of their choice.
7. This will be made possible by the following strategies;
   • In defining specification requirements for the purchase of new buses, coaches, rail carriages and other vehicles used in public transport, the special needs of people who have disability (specially those with mobility disability) will be taken into account (for example wider doorways, handgrips, height of steps, adequate space). In this way public transport vehicles will be made accessible through a gradual process. This process cannot be rushed, since the specifications of buses must also be relevant to road conditions in the country, (for example, have adequate clearance), and so they will be developed simultaneously.
   • Simple and innovative ways will be tested and developed to facilitate public transport for people who have disability such as the use of mobile ramps on trains, with the advice of local engineers and appropriate technology specialists.
   • Bus Stations and Railway stations will have greater accessibility facilities (toilets, ramps, lifts etc) for people who have disability. All new constructions in these will take into account the Accessibility Guidelines produced by the Ministry of Social Welfare and be fully accessible. Changes will be made to existing buildings to the extent possible.
8. (2). Subsidized travel presently available only to certain groups of people who have disability will be extended to include others who live below the poverty line and whose disability, unlike other citizens, makes if difficult for them to use public transport.
9. (3). Welfare payments presently available to disabled persons will be extended to those individuals whose disability prevents them from using public transport to get to educational and training institutions and to places of work. Such welfare payments will, even in a small way, enable them to use private transport.
10. (4). A sustainable forum, such as a Joint Committee, will be set up by the State sector responsible for public transport with representation of their management, disability organizations, private transport companies, trade unions and appropriate technology specialists. The main responsibility of this forum will be to advise relevant transport authorities on how affordable and appropriate changes can be made to public and private transport systems so that greater numbers of people who have disability may use them. This responsibility calls for the forum to keep up with international developments.
11. (5). Air travel and accessibility at airports should conform with international norms, and will be required to keep up with ongoing developments. However if there are local airlines and local airports which do not have to conform with international standards, then the policies and strategies listed in this paper applies equally to them.

2.18 Access to Information and Communication

The Braille Press was established in 1985. Based on the National Policy on Disability, the increased use of the Braille system and of sign language, more writings and literature, and news and current events, greater access to all services, and discussion and debate on these matters will be accessible to people who cannot see and to those who cannot hear. Information will be available to them through the means of communication used by them to compensate for the loss of sight and the loss of hearing. They will move about more freely because of the use of appropriate signage in public places. The "deaf culture" of people who cannot hear will be taken into consideration to facilitate their inclusion. The acquisition of alternative and augmentative communication methodologies will empower individuals who have no other means of communication. People who have disability will thus have a wider choice of participating in public discussion, in development programs and in the social, civil, political and cultural mainstream of society.

Strategies to improve accessibility to communication and information will include the following.

• Sign language will be recognized as the language of those who have profound hearing loss.
• Steps will be taken by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities to make available through adequate training, the maximum number possible of registered sign language interpreters at all times in all parts of the country and to all educational and training institutions that require them.
• Written text and visual symbols will complement sound-based announcement systems in public places such as at railway stations, bus stations and airports wherever possible so that those who cannot hear can understand it.
• Appropriate signage will be designed and installed in public places such as at pedestrian crossings and in buildings used by the general public so that they can be used by all, and especially by those persons who are cannot see (sound-based signs) and those who cannot hear (text-based signs).
• The development of innovative and appropriate Alternative and Augmentative Communication Methodologies will be encouraged and facilitated for people who cannot express themselves by speech and by sign language such as those who have multiple disability and intellectual disability.
• To the extent possible, at all public events including conferences and meetings, organizers will provide sign language interpreters to sign language users, suitable interpreters or alternative and augmentative (AAC) forms of communication for people who cannot speak and relevant documentation in the Braille medium for people who cannot see.
• The Courts System will recognize, accept and admit a registered sign language interpreter in any matter requiring the appearance in Court of an individual who uses sign language for communication. Also suitable interpreters, including family members, for people who cannot express themselves by speech and by sign language and use other alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) forms.

2.19 Poverty Alleviation through capacity-building, social security and sustainable livelihood programs

The National Policy on Disability highlights that poverty alleviation is not only a matter of increasing and sustaining income levels. Just as much as employment whether formal or informal is essential for economic reasons, it is also an economic right which protects and promotes the dignity and self- esteem of individuals. Together with an income adequate to meet the daily needs of an individual and that of his/her family, among other factors that are essential for the alleviation of poverty are education, adequate health care and nutrition, and housing. The rights of individuals to these services and programs have been included elsewhere in this policy.

Besides those that have been included elsewhere, people who have disability who live below the recognized poverty line will be included in

• all poverty alleviation programs implemented for the economic, social and political empowerment of the poor
• income generation programs including savings, skills training, entrepreneurship training, micro-credit and extension and marketing programs implemented for those with no income or low incomes
• social safety net and social security programs