APCD Mission Report
Mission to Samoa
15-19 November 2004
Community-based Rehabilitation: Lo to Taumafai Education Center for the Disabled
The Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) dispatched a mission to Samoa and identified the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture (MESC) as the Government Focal Point for APCD. H.E. Minister expressed MESC's coordination role on disability issues in Samoa and willingness to collaborate with APCD in cooperation with other disability-concerned organizations. APCD made a courtesy call to the Prime Minister of Samoa, H.E. Tuila'epa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, to introduce APCD. Disability-related organizations visited were the Minister of Health, Ministry of Women, Community, and Social Development, "Blind Youth Leaders" project of the Samoa Blind Society, "Community-based Rehabilitation" project of the Loto Taumafai Education Center for the Disabled (which is a Center mainly for persons with intellectual, physical and hearing disabilities), Samoa Intellectually Handicapped Society, Disability Action Taskforce, and "Cross-Disability National Self-help Organizations for Policy Advocacy" of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. APCD also visited the project on "Empowering Rural Disabled People" organized by the United Nations Development Program.
Mission to Indonesia
8-10 December 2004
A short mission was dispatched to Indonesia to develop networking and collaboration with more organizations of deaf persons by introducing APCD to the 16th World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Regional Secretariat Asia/Pacific (A/P) Representatives Meeting held in Jakarta from 9 - 11 December 2004. The Meeting was successfully organized by the Indonesian Association for the Welfare of the Deaf, representatives of national deaf associations and relevant groups from 16 countries including 12 developing countries. Participants recommended that APCD involve more deaf people in its activities; APCD also encouraged the WFD AP's to further cooperate and commit to developing APCD from deaf persons' points of view. Mr. Takeo Ogura, the WFD A/P Director deeply appreciated APCD representatives' presentation and participation. Through this opportunity, a collaborative tie between APCD and WFD A/P has been further strengthened.
APCD with Representatives in the Meeting
The Mission also conducted post-training interviews with former high profile Indonesian trainees in APCD's Non-handicapping Environment (NHE). According to their interviews, they have been actively promoting NHE in public places in Indonesia. Thanks to their advocacy and technical advice, the Kuta Town Development Project in Bali supported by the World Bank worked towards accessibility; one road and the airport have become accessible. The Mission felt that former participants should organize a domestic seminar on NHE so that their post-training actions and lessons learned could be shared in order to further promote NHE in Indonesia.
The Mission also met with the Department of Social Affairs and Indonesia Disabled Peoples' Association (IDPA) in order to prepare for the Networking and Collaboration Mission to Indonesia planned for March 2005, which is to identify APCD's government focal points and study possible associate organizations.
