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The complexity of rural contexts experienced by community disability workers in three southern African countries

BOOYENS, Margaret
VAN PLETZEN, Ermien
LORENZO, Theresa
2015

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An understanding of rural communities is fundamental to effective community-based rehabilitation work with persons with disabilities. By removing barriers to community participation, persons with disabilities are enabled to satisfy their fundamental human needs. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the challenges that rural community disability workers (CDWs) face in trying to realise these objectives. This qualitative interpretive study, involving in-depth interviews with 16 community disability workers in Botswana, Malawi and South Africa, revealed the complex ways in which poverty, inappropriately used power and negative attitudes of service providers and communities combine to create formidable barriers to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in families and rural communities. The paper highlights the importance of understanding and working with the concept of ‘disability’ from a social justice and development perspective. It stresses that by targeting attitudes, actions and relationships, community disability workers can bring about social change in the lives of persons with disabilities and the communities in which they live.

Disability and rehabilitation status : review of disability issues and rehabilitation services in 29 African countries

GIANNELLLI, Massimo
DEEPAK, Sunil
Eds
December 2004

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This report provides information related to disability issues and rehabilitation services, provided by 29 countries of Africa, and includes demographics, the presence of national policies and NGOs. The report is divided into the following three parts: a global review of information, the country profiles and a summary table of the information provided in individual countries. This report is useful for people interested in disability and rehabilitation services in Africa

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