Community Approach to Handicap in Development

Handicap International recognizes the difficulties encountered by people with disabilities who wish to take an active part in their community life. The Community Approach to Handicap in Development (CAHD) has been elaborated in Bangladesh by the Center for Disability in Development (CDD) in collaboration with Handicap International and CBM (Christoffel-Blindenmission). This approach aims to assist international development organizations to integrate people with disabilities in their activities.

APPROACH
The approach to disability must change to favour the integration of people with disabilities, to ensure a greater access to services, and to promote their personal fulfilment. This change of attitude leads to improved relations and concerns other community members and organizations as much as people with disabilities.

COMMUNITY
People with disabilities, their families and the organizations that are part of their everyday lives.

HANDICAP
Denying the existence of people with disabilities, their exclusion from society and the failure to provide the services needed.

DEVELOPMENT
Including people with disabilities in a process leading to greater personal freedoms and a more equitable division of available resources.

The Community Approach to Handicap in Development (CAHD) aims to integrate issues relating to disability into development programming. Its main objective is the transformation of situations of exclusion into opportunities for integration for people with disabilities or vulnerable populations.

People with disabilities play an important role in the evolution of mentalities. They contribute to the evolution of policies and to the introduction of new laws, they ensure the effective implementation of the programs in which they take part, and in particular, they are members of the organizations which implement the CAHD approach. Misperceptions of disability and its causes lead to negative attitudes among community members and within organizations.

These negative attitudes are responsible for poverty and social obstacles which lead to isolation, marginalisation and the premature death of two-thirds of people with disabilities. The objective of the CAHD approach is to transform these attitudes in order to limit or eliminate the negative consequences of disability.

CAHD is an integration strategy which uses existing development organizations and their current activities as a basis for action. These organizations should change their approach:

• By integrating issues relating to disability into their existing programs.

• By attending a training course to acquire a general comprehension of the concept in order to ensure a successful implementation of relevant activities.

• To reach this goal, programmes integrating the CAHD approach must introduce effective activities allowing to:

- Change the attitudes of individuals and organizations, in order to ensure an equitable division of resources, especially for people with disabilities.
- Change the social environment to eliminate the barriers responsible for the exclusion of people with disabilities and the inadequacy or absence of necessary services.
- Reduce the impact of deficiency and disability on affected people and their families while insuring prevention and accessibility to adequate services.

Communication
Contribute to a change of attitudes and informing people and organizations on disability issues.

Rights and Integration
Provide people with disabilities with opportunities to participate in family and community activities and ensure that their rights as full and equal citizens are respected.

Rehabilitation
Minimize the impact of physical and mental deficiencies and maximize personal development.

Management
Adapt organizations’ structures and operations to make sure that the actions in the 3 preceding axes can be carried out simultaneously, in an effective and suitable manner.