ANGOLAANGOLAASSISTANCE FOR THE REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE FOR THE REINTEGRATION

AND PARTICIPATION OF AND PARTICIPATION OF EX-COMBATANTS WITH EX-COMBATANTS WITH

SEVERE DISABILITIESSEVERE DISABILITIES- ARPESD -- ARPESD -

From the Medical to the Social ModelFrom the Medical to the Social Model- an inclusive development strategy –an inclusive development strategy –

Rosangela Berman BielerRosangela Berman BielerInter-American Institute on Disability & Inclusive DevelopmentInter-American Institute on Disability & Inclusive Development

www.iidi.org www.iidi.org

Background

The Angolan Government’s Program for Demobilization and Reintegration (PGDR) of Ex-Combatants is being implemented at the National level by the Institute of Socio-Professional Re-integration of Ex-Combatants (IRSEM) in order to provide assistance in facilitating economic and social integration of 138,000 Ex-Combatants.

As part of the PGDR, the ASSISTANCE FOR THE REINTEGRATION the ASSISTANCE FOR THE REINTEGRATION AND PARTICIPATION OF EX-COMBATANTS WITH SEVERE AND PARTICIPATION OF EX-COMBATANTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES Program (ARPESD)DISABILITIES Program (ARPESD) focuses on providing direct attention in the area of assistive devices, medical rehabilitation, psychosocial support and professional rehabilitation to this group of beneficiaries. Attention is to be provided in the areas of skills development, income-generating activities, micro-finance, business development services and support to local communities in which persons with severe disabilities live.

Background

IRSEM has developed a strategy inclusive of the abovementioned activities that will focus on the ultimate successful reintegration of persons with disabilities into their respective communities.

The objective of the project is to deliver technical assistance to IRSEM to create conditions for social integration and physical rehabilitation in order to minimize dependency on specialized services and enhance transition into mainstream society.

Goals of the Project• To support up to 1,000 beneficiaries

with severe disabilities, identified by IRSEM, de-mobilized from the Bicesse, Lusaka and Luena accords (750 former-military +250 civilians).

• To assess all the available services that may support the beneficiaries of the project.

• To provide support for the resolutions of key problems that may generate exclusion

• To work with each beneficiary and to establish individual rehabilitation plans

Implementation Provinces

- Luanda- Benguela- Kuando Kubango- Lubango- Huambo

Expected Results

• Beneficiaries have their proper individual rehabilitation plans;

• Potential services in Angola are identified/defined, including rehabilitation and other services that may be offered by the project;

• Beneficiaries are referred to available services meeting individual needs;

• Obstacles to access of services are removed and services are offered;

• Quality integral rehabilitation services are provided; • Human Rights of beneficiaries with severe disabilities

are taken into consideration and respected;• Rehabilitation and reintegration services for people

with disabilitiescontinue being provided & monitored by IRSEM after the conclusion of the project.

Objectives of the Consultancy

• Design and facilitate training of community agents and beneficiaries, on daily life activities and independent living for persons with severe disabilities. This item includes the identification/development of tools and resources for diagnosis, training, monitoring and evaluation, from the perspective of the family and the community;

• Participate in the identification and selection of the initial purchase of materials and assistive devices for persons with severe disabilities;

• Design, facilitate and evaluate training workshops that focus on capacity building of national rehabilitation teams in the areas of assessment and service provision, under a “Disability Social Model” and an inclusive development approach;

Objectives of the Consultancy

• Participate in key rehabilitation and planning meetings with critical project partners;

• Participate in the evaluation process and the preparation of final reports of the Project;

• Propose future interventions for the inclusion of persons with severe disabilities, to be considered within the Angolan public policies on Health, Education, Social Protection, Employment, Infrastructure, Poverty Reduction and Civil and Social Participation.

• Work with the project team and critical partners for the development and adoption of a common conceptual framework and strategies for the project, under an inclusive development approach, that can be incorporated transversally in all the activities related to the project;

• Promote and contribute to the full integration of persons with severe disabilities into all components of the project activities inclusive of project strategy, project implementation methodology and evaluation approaches

• Contribute to the development of an inclusive project methodology that addresses all of the critical components such as needs assessment and mapping, participant assessments, development of individualized rehabilitation plans, monitoring and evaluation systems and contracting of service delivery, etc.

• Design and facilitate assessment and planning workshops with potential partners working in Angola, in the field of community based development and rehabilitation, as well as on inclusion.

Objectives of the Consultancy

Functional Diversity Environment

To guarantee a fair selection, all

will have the same exact test – climb up on that

tree.

Equal Opportunities

Access to Food

Access to Water & Sanitation

Access to Electricity

Access to Infrastructure

Access to Housing

Access to Education

Access to Health & Prevention

(including HIV-AIDS)

Access to Social Safety Nets

maintenance, cost X benefit & sustainability

Access to Equipment & Assistive Devices

Appropriate Mobility Aids

Access to transportation

Access to Employment & Social Inclusion

Identity, Voice, Empowerment, Participation

Proposed Inclusion Strategy1- focus the interventions in the community: 2- include people with disabilities in the center of

the process:• Among the beneficiaries: they should be the ones

interviewed and not somebody else in the family or community;

• Among the ARPESD staff/contractors: they should be involved as agents for data collection and other activities of the project; they (and their organizations) should benefit as much as possible, from all training and capacity building opportunities offered by the project.

On general strategic aspects

- Avoid medical approaches and prioritize social approaches, of integral attention and inclusion;

- Avoid the focus in the activities of medical-professional assessments/evaluations and increase an approach based in a primary care attention level, in the community;   

- Avoid assistancial approach and invest in the establishment of local capacity (in Angola);

  - Develop data collection, attention, monitoring and evaluation

instruments for all the stages and activities of the project, that use the social and human rights approaches, as well as the concepts of functionality, equalization of opportunities and inclusive development; 

On beneficiary Participation- Avoid create segregated/special spaces and activities, that may

strengthen discrimination, stigma and exclusion;       

- Prioritize independent living/personal autonomy and peer-support strategies on daily life activities training, trauma counseling, etc;       

- Identify partners and alliances in the disability area, especially between representative entities of Persons with Disabilities, and integrate People with Disabilities also as staff, technicians in different stages and activities of the project;       

- Prioritize the active participation of the users/beneficiaries, keeping them as subject, in the center of the activities of the project, as well as in the decision making processes;       

- Invest project resources in removal of architectural barriers and the promotion of accessibility (built spaces, Communication & ICT; services)

On Flexibility and Viability

- To work with existing mechanisms, structures, programs and alliances, inside of the regular systems of the country;       

- To identify existing opportunities to integrate the project with other existing related activities/in progress, in order to generate synergies, continuity and support to the undertaken actions (example: current project on income generation, being conducted by LARDEF - a local disability NGO, now in its 3rd year of implementation);

On training and capacity building1- Training module for internal ARPESD selected staff/agents (to

include questionnaire and other info specifically related to ARPESD);

2- Training module for internal and/or "outside"/community persons and NGOs to include info on inclusive development concepts and practices.

 The contents of this second training module may cover the following:

- Trauma Counseling (involving also the 10 Psychologists that are now graduating in Angola) 

- The concepts of Inclusion; Personal Autonomy and Independent Living; Daily life activities; Personal Assistance; Assistive Technology; Accessibility & Universal Design.

On knowledge transfer & access to Resources

• Set up descenteralized “assistive technology show rooms” in different locations of the country (urban and rural provinces) and of the system (rehabilitation centers, special/inclusive schools, general/specialized hospitals of the country;

• Train local personnel in the confection of individualized aids for daily life activities and independent living, including pressure relief cushions, costomized sitting and hand adaptations for holding pens, forks, brushes, etc

• Include products catalogues and different devices both on low and high cost assistive technologies, available locally and/or from around the world, informing vendor’s and cost references;

• Train personnel (nurses, Intensive Care, rehab) of, at least, one general (military) hospital of the Country on trauma/spinal cord injury emergency attention and treatment.

On sustainability: capacity building

Promote training to develop local capacity in simplified - low cost and good quality - assistive technologies, including those crafted, developed with local materials;   

- Invest extra /not used resources in training courses to government professionals, NGOs/DPOs, contractors, self-employees and consumers in Angola, with consultants who can speak Portuguese, using methodologies of “training of trainers” in areas such as: ·        - Visual impairments: orientation and mobility/assistive technologies         - Hearing Impairments: education and communication/ assistive

technologies ·- Deaf-Blind person: education and communication; orientation and

mobility/assistive technologies ·        - Mobility Impairments: activities of the daily life/assistive technologies

·        Accessibility and Design Universal

Outreach Strategy

While making all efforts to cover all individual beneficiaries, identified by the project, even the ones isolated in rural areas or areas of difficult access, the project should prioritize attention to groups/comunities of users in existance in the country and invest in actions and services that may benefit - not only the induividuals with disabilities – but also respond to the needs and collective demands of the community where they reside;

Awareness Raising- In all stages and actions of project implementation (local,

provincial, national), try to change the mentality with demonstration practical experiences;

- Through the promotion of training activities with IRSEM, partners, organizations of persons with disabilities, government officers, academia, etc;

- Based on the social model and inclusive development approach, design and conduct assessments/evaluations for preparation of the individual rehab plan;

- Train the “National” and “Provincial Rehabilitation Managers” in the social model and inclusive development approach;

- Other actions that will be pertinent and/or opportune.

Building an Evidence Base• Document all the stages of evaluation and attention to the user;       

• Identify, document and disseminate good/bad practices in social inclusion;       

• Undertake and/or support, and/or stimulate activities that lead to local sustainable development and to the creation of inclusive public policies;       

• Develop a social communication strategy and identify opportunities in the media to promote social inclusion and the philosophy of Inclusive Development;       

• Contribute to the dissemination, ratification and implementation of the International Convention of the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities, and to the practice of the social and human rights model in Angola.

Monitoring & Evaluation

ARPESD had a very limited implementation period (about 6 months). All the data collection and evaluation tools utilized by the project should serve as the basis for the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) indicators to be developed with the ARPESD team and IRSEM so the projects activities can be monitored and evaluated every year, for 3-5 years after the completion of the project. The M&E tools may include indicators based in the beneficiaries and also based in the services and environment accessibility of the community, city, province, country.