The Salesian school began the first formal training program in the prosthetics and orthotics fields in Latin America in 1996 and since then, about 230 students from 20 countries have graduated with skills that are in demand in their home countries.

“The training program shows how education and training not only benefit the individual student, but also entire communities, as the students return to work in local hospitals and clinics, and even train others in some cases,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. fundraising arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Fr. Mark adds that most recently the University Don Bosco was able to provide assistance in Haiti, helping children and adults who have had amputations following the 2010 earthquake. Immediately following the earthquake, seven professional technicians aided, providing nearly 200 artificial limbs and more than 100 sessions of orthopedic assistance in Port-au-Prince.

“The aim is to help the people. We know what state the country is in after the earthquake. We know this will also help us in our lives and in our profession,” says Alexis Mendoza, one of the volunteers. Volunteers will be involved in assessing the condition of the patients, planning and fitting the artificial limbs and providing orthopedic help.

During a trip in 2010, Prof. Rolando Martinez Panameño, dean of the School of Re-habilitation Science, estimated that out of approximately 10,000 people in need of help, 4,000 have had an amputation.

In addition to volunteer trips, the University partners with the Ministry of Health, Physicians for Peace and other nongovernmental organizations in Haiti to establish a national training and certification program for the Haitian prosthetic and orthotic community. Students take part in a distance learning course in their native language of Creole, while also training with US professionals.

“We are constantly working to expand our services in Haiti to ensure that people with disabilities are able to contribute to the rebuilding of their country. We know that even before the earthquake, children and adults with disabilities faced enormous challenges as resources in Haiti were stretched far beyond capacity,” says Fr. Mark, citing the World Report on Disabilities statistics that show children with disabilities are less likely to start school than non-disabled children and have lower rates of staying in school. In addition, in OECD countries (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the employment rate of people with disabilities (44 percent) is slightly over half that for people without disabilities (75 percent).

With additional support from the World Health Organization, distance learning programs available in Spanish, Portuguese, English, and French are now also offered in Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina, says Fr. Mark.

Almost one-fifth of the estimated global total of one billion persons living with disabilities — or between 110-190 million — encounter significant difficulties including discrimination and lack of adequate health care and rehabilitation services, according to the World Report on Disabilities which was developed with contributions from more than 380 experts and is expected to be a key resource for countries implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report also cites difficulties associated with a lack of access to transportation and information and communication technologies.

People with disabilities have generally poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. Children surrounded by poverty, especially those with disabilities, face uncertain futures and overwhelming obstacles.

“Children with disabilities have the same rights as all children, and they deserve the same chance to make the most of their lives and to make their voices heard,” says Anthony Lake, UNICEF executive director. “We need to break down the barriers that prevent full participation of children with disabilities — from programs that ignore their needs, to prejudice that discounts their ability to contribute.”

The remarks were part of Lake’s recent call on Dec. 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, for a greater investment in helping children and young people with disabilities to realize their rights. Lake also renewed the call for universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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PHOTO: UN Photo/Sophia Paris

Related MissionNewswire article: GLOBAL: UNICEF Calls for Children with Disabilities to be Included in All Development

Sources:

World Report on Disabilities

UNICEF calls for children with disabilities to be included in all development

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: New world report shows more than 1 billion people with disabilities face substantial barriers in their daily lives

International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics

Handicap International

Salesian Lay Missioners

The post EL SALVADOR: Salesian University Recognized for Leadership in Providing Children with Prosthetics first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“Children with disabilities have the same rights as all children, and they deserve the same chance to make the most of their lives and to make their voices heard,” says Anthony Lake, UNICEF executive director. “We need to break down the barriers that prevent full participation of children with disabilities – from programs that ignore their needs, to prejudice that discounts their ability to contribute.”

Children with disabilities are among the most marginalized and excluded groups of children. Compared to their peers, they are routinely denied access to health, education and social services. They are often excluded from opportunities to participate in their communities, and are more vulnerable to violence and abuse.

Girls with disabilities also face additional discrimination because of their sex. In addition to marginalization within the family, community, school and wider social circles, girls with disabilities are often at greater risk of violence, injury, abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment and exploitation.

And children with disabilities are less likely to receive necessary healthcare, be taken to clinics, receive medication or be immunized. They are also often the last to receive information that would help them to stay safe, including how to avoid HIV/AIDS, and how to tell adults when they feel endangered. Such information is rarely available in formats accessible to blind or deaf children or those with intellectual disabilities.

Discrimination against children with disabilities stems from multiple sources, including ignorance, prejudice and cultural norms, which in turn lead to stigma and entrenched social exclusion. Their participation is further limited by multiple barriers, including lack of access to the physical environment and to information and communication; lack of adequate legislation, lack of public policies and monitoring mechanisms; and lack of training for teachers and other service providers.

One of the chief barriers to improving the lives of children with disabilities is the paucity of reliable data. When children with disabilities are not included in data collection efforts, they are equally absent from policy discussions and budget allocations.

The situation of children with disabilities is improving, but there are still extraordinary gaps, especially in places where poverty and inequality are more prominent. As the global community works together to achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals with greater equity, it must do more to create effective legislation to protect the rights of children with disabilities, to establish programs and services to support children with disabilities and their families at the community and national levels, and to dispel stereotypes, fight stigma and change attitudes towards disability.

“UNICEF is committed to working with our partners to overcome the barriers that stand between children with disabilities and the full realization of their rights,” says Lake.

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Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farran – UNAMID

Sources:
UNICEF

The post GLOBAL: UNICEF Calls for Children with Disabilities to be Included in All Development first appeared on MissionNewswire.