ACTION
FOR DISABILITY
Overseas Projects - Pakistan
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The
Rehabilitation Centre for the Physically Disabled (RCPD) is based in Peshawar in North
West Frontier Province, Pakistan. RCPD provides services for people with physical
disabilities at its own centre and at eleven other geographical sites. Government funded
hospitals and private clinics are the only alternative sources of help to this client
group and they are both urban based and expensive, out of reach of poor rural communities.
RCPD runs a low cost orthotic workshop in Peshawar where items are produced and sold at a fraction of the cost of commercial suppliers. There is also a vocational workshop which allows disabled adults or the parents of disabled children to gain skills which may lead to employment or at least to earn some income.
RCPD's outreach work with people with physical disabilities has brought them
into contact with numerous landmine casualties on both the Afghanistan border with
Pakistan and the disputed border with India in Kashmir. Pakistan and, in particular North
West Frontier Province, has a long history and tradition of tribal warfare and disputes,
and in recent times relatively easy access to landmines in the tribal area of Pakistan has
meant increasing numbers of casualties among local Pakistan communities. 
During the Afghan war Pakistan accepted between 3-4 million refugees many of whom remain within its borders. A significant number of people with disabilities who attend the “physical disability camps” at Parachinar on the border are Afghan refugees who are landmine casualties. Most are too poor to access any kind of physical or economic rehabilitation help following surgery. It is estimated that in the Kurram and Bajuar Agencies, Kotli and Kashmir refugee camps alone there are more than 5000 landmine casualties. Severe poverty often leads them to become beggars and their children are forced into prostitution or bonded labour.
AFD has been successful in obtaining a three year grant from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (www.theworkcontinues.org) to establish partnership arrangements with local NGOs to focus on and work with landmine casualties.This project will begin in April 2001 working mainly in the border areas of Afghanistan and Kashmir. The physical rehabilitation needs of the landmine casualties will be met by either the resource base at Peshawar or a mobile rehabilitation unit as appropriate. Their social and economic development needs will be assessed by the local NGO and suitable candidates will attend vocational training in tailoring and embroidery; bicycle repair; welding; household electrical appliance repair or rehabilitation and development work in Peshawar. Beneficiaries successfully completing the training to the required standard will be provided with an appropriate tool kit to enable them to earn a living or make a contribution to family livelihoods.
Basic community education about the dangers of landmines will be an integral part of the project but will be subsidiary to the main task of addressing the physical, social and economic needs of landmine casualties. The physical rehabilitation will increase the individual’s capacity for mobility, and enhance their ability to access social, educational and employment opportunities than would not otherwise be available to them.
As well as the obvious potential benefits to individual landmine casualties, in terms of personal empowerment and development, there are also benefits to their families as they become contributing members to family security rather than a burden and the wider community as they become more socially and economically active. The strengthening of existing NGOs and the establishment of new ones can increase their capacity to tackle other community identified development needs.
There has not been any large scale evaluation of RCPD community based rehabilitation activities undertaken so far. This is an area that AFD are committed to helping their partner establish.
Rashid, after basic training at
Peshawar, has started a bicycle repair shop of his own.
Women in
Pakistan suffer more due to socio-cultural restrictions. An artifical leg gives this young
woman more confidence