Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities

Around the world, there are an estimated 1 billion people living with disabilities. Of the global total, roughly 6.5 million children with disabilities live in the countries where World Vision is working in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Southern Asia region.

Many, if not most, people living with disabilities across this region face barriers to inclusion that limit, among other things: their mobility, their access to education, their opportunities for employment and their capacities to contribute society.

World Vision recognises children with disabilities to be among the most vulnerable populations we serve and seeks to help them, their families and their communities build a better future for all children, including those with disabilities by: equipping their parents and caregivers to provide for their special needs; training teachers and educational facilities to include them; by providing wheelchairs and other mobility devices and of course celebrating the abilities they do have.

The following are just two examples of World Vision’s efforts to include and empower those living with disabilities:

In Lebanon, World Vision is working with partners to advocate for the creation of an inclusive environment for children with disabilities in educational programmes within the Palestinian refugee camps for people like Hussein, a 6-year-old with physical disabilities due to complications during his birth. Today, Hussein and 350 other children with disabilities are able to attend and participate in school, like their peers. Watch a video of Hussein here.

In Albania, World Vision lobbied the central government to provide a legal foundation for inclusive education for children with disabilities. In 2012, a law was passed to prioritize the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools with their peers, rather than isolating them in specialised institutions. In addition to allowing children with disabilities be registered in schools, World Vision has partnered with local and national partner to make sure that the policy change for inclusion to be translated in reality inclusive schools. Particularly, WV is also equipping teachers to include these children in their classrooms through a manual and training provided to more than 150 schools across the country.

By empowering individuals, equipping communities and challenging the status quo World Vision is partnering with others to make sure no one gets left behind.