Interdisciplinary Programmes

CBM's work is with people and communities, rather than disabilities. Medical work, aimed at reducing or overcoming impairments, is only one aspect of CBM's work. Increasingly, CBR programmes have the goals of human rights, socio-economic development and poverty alleviation, and operate under the guiding principles of participation, inclusion and sustainability. The strategy is to catalyse and enable the community to accept responsibility for meeting the needs of all its people, including people with disabilities. Disability issues therefore become part of general community development.

Community-Based Rehabilitation
CBR is a strategy within community development, for the full participation and inclusion of people with disabilities in the life of their communities. This involves the combined effort of all available medical, educational, social and vocational resources, working closely together with people with disabilities and their families. There is a move away from direct service delivery alone, to a twin-track approach which also focuses on the social model of disability, human rights, and inclusive practices.
Typical CBR measures include

• information on causes of impairments and prevention
• medical care, therapy and rehabilitation
• services for people of all ages, with all forms of disabilities, including those with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities
• promotion of inclusive education of children with disabilities
• skills training and livelihood development
• life skills education
• advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life

CBM focuses on integrating people with disabilities into their communities, supporting them in finding ways to participate in all aspects of community life. To this end, it is important to overcome physical barriers as well as changing attitudes towards disabled people and overcoming the stigma attached to individual disabilities.

CBM's engagement in EE/L constitutes the ultimate step towards comprehensive rehabilitation services to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The engagement in economic activities paves the road for best possible integration, independence and self esteem. Core activities in this mandated field include the following:

• Awareness Creation and Advocacy: Increasing awareness, particularly of governments and (employers) the private sector that PwDs have the right, the duty and the ability to participate in economic activities and get access to respective services in microfinance, business advice and -promotion. In this effort we closely cooperate with Disabled Persons Organisations.
• Pre-vocational training: Assisting schools, which enrol PwDs to give due attention to vocational skills, being promoted side by side with academic education.
• Skill- and Vocational training: Supporting training programmes to enhance marketable skills for persons with disabilities, as to improve opportunities for employment and self-employment.
• Self-Employment: Promotion of PwD initiatives for the establishment of micro enterprises through business advice and provision of loans.
• Mainstreaming: Promote access and integration of PwDs to existing vocational training- and employment programmes that were previously not accessible to disabled persons.

In 2006,

• CBM supported 217 (2004: 190) community-based rehabilitation (CBR) projects
• CBR projects, supported by CBM, reached almost 271,713 (almost 200,000) people
• 37,268 (36,554) persons with disabilities participated in EE/L programmes supported by CBM