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APCD Mission Report

Mission to Pakistan
5-12 July 2006

The APCD Mission to Pakistan was to 1) survey Sesar District, Bagh, the earthquake affected area, and 2) join the Seminar on Independent Living.

The mission visited the Sesar District, Bagh AJK (Kashmir) located in the Himalaya Mountains partially covering Jammu & Kashmir, where Ms. Nazreen Aziz, an ex-participant of APCD and school teacher, discovered approximately 1,200 persons with disabilities and organized a DPO, Charagh-e-Manzil. After the earthquake, she met with other leaders with disabilities to assist her with a project on a barrier-free environment to support many people who became disabled due to the earthquake. Moreover, she plans to formulate fundraising activities to reconstruct a school that was damaged by the earthquake in the Bagh AJK area in 2005. The assessment by the Earthquake Reconstruction Rehabilitation Authority, noted that this school should be rebuilt.

The mission visited Bagh City to join a Workshop on Persons with Disabilities and Reconstruction of Earthquakeaffected areas. At the workshop, Mr. Topong Kulkhanchit, APCD Resource Person and Executive Board Member, and DPI/Asia-Pacific Regional Development Officer, emphasized that accessible school models to be built should be promoted as well as inclusive education. Ms. Nasreen Aziz stated the importance of peer-counseling and an Independent Living Center.

The mission attended a Special Session Seminar on Independent Living organized by the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP) in Islamabad on 9 July 2006. Mr. Atif Sheikh, STEP President, opened the session for 40 participants from across Pakistan. The aim of the seminar was to contribute to the efforts of the Independent Living Centers who were actively involved in reconstrucion and rehabilitation of the Communities, especially after the earthquake in 2005. A wide range of issues pertaining to persons with severe disabilities, independent living centers, and problems related to their implementation were discussed. Substantive sessions were organized with the participation of APCD resource persons and organizations of representatives of disabled peoples' organizations. The sessions consisted of topics a "STEP towards Independent Living" and a "Presentation on Case Studies of Severely Disabled Persons".

APCD will further collaborate to empower and strengthen a barrier-free society for persons with disabilities in Pakistan.

Mission to Papua New Guinea
18-27 July 2006

The APCD Mission visited the Ministry of Community Development and met with H.E. Ms. Dame Carol Kidu, Minister of Community Development, who agreed to be the honorable chairperson of the Regional Training Seminar on Capacity Building for Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (CBSHOD) 2007. H.E. Ms. Kidu set up a press conference at the Parliament Building on 27 July 2006 and announced that the Ministry of Community Development will collaborate with APCD and the DPI/Asia-Pacific Regional Office hosting the CBSHOD 2007 in Port Moresby. The mission also visited 1) the Department of Health 2) the Ministry of Education 3) the Ministry of Labor and 4) the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), stating full support towards the upcoming CBSHOD. The Mission also met many persons with disabilities from different provinces and provincial representatives of the Ministry of Health, Labor, Education, and Community Development.

The Mission participated in the 1st National Leadership Training Seminar for Women with Disabilities and the 5th NBDP Conference in Lae. On 19 July 2006, Mr. Topong Kulkhanchit, APCD Resource Person and Executive Board Member, and DPI/Asia-Pacific Regional Development Officer, shared about the new human rights convention and human rights issues of women with disabilities.

The Mission visited Pari village and met with small disabled peoples' organizations in the community to get information about persons with disabilities and accessibility. Additional projects concerning disability such as, Morobe Special Education Resource Center, Associate for Disabled Houses, PNG Rehabilitation Center, Cheshire Home, St. John's Association for the Blind, and the Red Cross Special Education Resource Center were also visited.

Mission to the Philippines
29 August - 2 September 2006

The Mission objectives were to collaborate in a 3-day domestic workshop on Non-handicapping Environment (NHE) which was organized by former APCD participants, the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP) and the JICA-Philippines Office, to monitor and follow up on APCD ex-participants as well as to seek more information on participants for future training courses, and to strengthen a collaborative relationship with APCD's focal point organizations.

The National Consultative Workshop on the Promotion of a Non-Handicapping Environment for Persons with Disabilities was conducted at the Pearl Manila Hotel, Ermita, Manila from 30 August to 1 September 2006. Honorable Dr. Esperanza Cabral, Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development was the Chairperson for the Workshop. Thirty-two persons participated in this workshop covering a Best Practices presentation, small group discussion, action plan implementation, and lectures by guest speakers from different sectors. Management Corporation talked about promoting NHE from business sector perspectives SM Supermalls, where an accessibility survey was conducted in the Mall of Asia. In addtition, the University of the Philippines lectured about the Universal Design.

Three highlights of the mission were:

1. The extension of the action plan formulated by each participant in this workshop will promote and sustain the NHE campaign in the Philippines.
2. The greater collaboration among sectors such as the SM SuperMalls Corporation, and the University of the Philippines. They sincerely work and support NHE in the Philippines. This is a good model to share with other countries in this region, on the participation of civil society in social development.
3. Former APCD participants collaborating with the NCWDP, will develop a project up-scaling NHE to expand in other areas of the Philippines by submitting the project proposal to the JICA-Philippines. This shows a good practice of working together between civil societies and international organizations for the development of NHE in this region.

Apart from the involvement of the NHE aspect, we had a good opportunity to meet and interview some former APCD participants who attended the Independent Living training in 2005 & 2006 and the Human Rights of Persons with a Psychiatric Disability in 2004.

APCD Counterpart Training in Japan
20 - 27 August 2006

Mr. Kitti Samanthai, Director - General of the Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups (OPP) together with Prof. Wiriya Namsiripongpun, APCD Executive Board Member and Mrs. Kanitta Kamolwat, APCD Director attended the Counterpart Training on Policy Making for Empowerment for Persons with Disabilites and Accessible Information in Japan. During the training, APCD counterparts visited different disabled people's organizations. They learned about Japan's Legislation and Policy on Disability, Collaboration with NGOs, Management of International Training, Management of Information Center and Activities of Information Support at the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities and TOYAMA Sunrise. They were exposed to the Independent Living empowerment concept, and the support of independent living for persons with an intellectual disability at the Human Care Association. The group had the opportunity to visit one person with an intellectual disability who lives independently with 2 personal assistants supported by the Human Care Association.

In Kyoto, the counterparts visited and learned about activities of the Japanese Foundation of the Deaf, which also organized the Community SAGANO Center. This Center provides sign-language training for volunteers and personnel of/ for the deaf people. In Nagoya, all participants visited the AJU organization and learned about the activities for persons with disabilities managed by persons with disabilities; for example, the WADACHI Computer House and the Winery Project.

The counterpart training provided knowledge and skills that can benefit Thai policy making and provided further insight on disability-related issues. It is important to empower persons with disabilities through organizations of persons with disabilities. Real life experience and information sharing applied in the training greatly impacts the counterparts in learning and raising awareness that will benefit APCD project administration.