5.2 Profile of Non-Governmental Organizations of/for Persons with Disabilities

Self-help group of people with all disabilities but primarily disabilities. Objectives include provision of a suitable environment for the disabled to meet and exchange ideas, experiences; organization of activities and training courses for members.

Self-help PWD group to provide legal and financial assistance for vocational training and employment, to organize sports and cultural events for PWD.

An organization of people with mobility impairments, working as volunteers, following regulations approved by the Board and all the members. Objectives include information exchange, promotion of social awareness and provision of vocational training courses for PWDs.

A club gathering for PWDs who are fond of cultural and sporting activities, aiming to disseminate legislation on PWDs, to improve knowledge of the spiritual life of PWD, to help PWDs in living activities, etc.

Member of Vietnam Blind Association with objectives including the organization of rehabilitation activities, provision of educational and vocational training, job promotion and improvement of cultural understanding for PWDs.

A self-help group of people with mobility disabilities to provide consultancy, exchange information and promote social concern for PWDs, to provide vocational training courses.

A local NGO with volunteer staff to provide health care and rehabilitation of all kinds to help the blind, to organize manufacturing groups and professional training, etc.

Self-help group of people with mobility disabilities to exchange information on disability policies, to visit and take care of one another when in difficulty and in need, to organize events for members, to provide language training courses.

An organization of 35,000 visual impaired people throughout Vietnam.

Objectives:

• Gather the peers together;
• Help one another to overcome the difficulties in life;
• Work together in projects and businesses;
• Play music, sports and other kinds of activities;
• Represent a voice of people with disabilities (PWD) in protecting the rights of disabled persons and joining the movement of other people with disability groups countrywide.

Short-term purposes:

• Mutual support and experience sharing.
• Have fun and play sports.
• Obtain contracts for a dress-making group, which has been supported by Prudential and received assistance from Can Tho DOLISA for dress-making training for 13 members of the Association.
• Set up a wood-carving workshop for the male members.
• Set up napkin making to deal with the financial difficulties of the members.
• Have a sports team and a music group so that members can train regularly.
• Participate in the International Trade Fair in Can Tho.
• Launch campaigns using the press, music and sports events.
• Support loan
• Distribute wheelchairs, tricycles, prosthetics and orthotic devices, and scholarships.

Long-term purposes:

In three years, all members will be employed at home or at the Association's office, improving living standards and the spiritual life of Can Tho disabled people.

Objectives:

• Encourage people with disabilities to live an independent life and not be a burden for their families and society, gradually, overcoming the negative attitude towards disabled people who can contribute to society.

Activities:

• Take part in organizing seminars, workshops, exchanges and translating books on disability.
• Run free-of-charge English and computer classes for people with disabilities to do capacity-building.
• Facilitate and create opportunities for practice in activities such as discussions, seminars, recreation and community visits Short-term

purposes:

• Raise awareness among people with disabilities on disability issues with the objective of full and equal participation in the community's activities Share information about job opportunities, Do business with and address psychological changes of people with disabilities.

Long-term purposes:

• Exchange information and promote society's interests in creating a barrier-free environment so that people with disabilities can integrate into the community's activities.
• Run vocational training to enable disabled people to find jobs and set up other services to help them integrate into the community.

Objectives:

• Gather people of the same plight and help one another to overcome the difficulties in life.
• Raise social awareness of disabled people.
• Improve life quality of people with disabilities.
• Improve position of people with disabilities in the society.

Activities:

• Organizing regular meetings twice a month. Mutual help in everyday life.
• Visits (for sickness and sadness etc.)
• Take part in the community's activities

Short-term purposes:

• Mutual understanding and help in getting confident and removing inferiority complex: sharing.
• Full integration into the community Long-term purposes - Raising social awareness among people with disabilities.
• Improving the quality of life of disabled people; - Improving the position of people with disabilities in society.

Objectives:

• Gather all disabled people who are interested in cultural and sports activities.
• Disseminate Government policies on disability, cultural and sports issues concerning people with disabilities;
• Improve knowledge of spiritual life of people with disabilities and promote their integration into the community.
• Help one another in everyday life and with family business, for example, organizing production, family run services.
• Take part in social activities through cultural and sports performances in order to confirm the position and role of people with disabilities in the life of society.

Activities:

• Develop cultural, literary, artistic and sports activities by organizing literary and art groups to perform for disabled people who are living in the State care centers and the community. Joining groups wheelchair sports such as shooting, table-tennis, badminton and taking part in sports competitions for people with disabilities (some of the members have won gold and silver medals at various competitions).
• Organizing performances to raise funds for agent orange victims and children having financial difficulties. - Assisting disabled members of the Club with their production business.

Program Strategy: The Disability Forum of the VUFO-NGO Resource Center includes all of the organizations listed in this document. Its aim is to promote cooperation, collaboration and better communication among non-governmental organizations (NGOs), organizations of people with disabilities (PWDs) and government agencies. Any group or individual interested in issues related to disabilities and rehabilitation is welcome to join the Forum. The issues addressed by the Forum include rehabilitation and health care services, employment, inclusive and vocational education, consciousness-raising and barrier-free access to public places. The Forum conducts countrywide workshops approximately every six months. A regular monthly update of activities is distributed by email to members of the Forum and other interested parties. The same information is available on the Disability Forum website: http://forum.wso.net PWD groups who are currently members of the Disability Forum are listed in a separate document which is available at the Forum office. A Program Committee meets once every two months to manage the Disability Forum. NGO members of the Committee are AIFO, HVO, ODTA, PSBI, VVAF and WCDO, PWD groups on the Committee are Bright Future and the Hanoi Club of Disabled Students.

DYA is a cross-disabilities group and has 4 branches in Ho Chi Minh City. Each branch has it own steering board.

Objectives:

• Raise funds and promote vocational training and job placement policies for people with disabilities.
• Cooperate with other self-help groups for the establishment of a legal national association of disabled people.

Activities:

• Participate in cultural and musical events, and sports competitions of both disabled and non-disabled people.
• Provide employment consultancy service for people with disabilities and enterprise of PWDs
• Organize wheelchairs and motorized bicycles tours around Vietnam in order to create linkages between people with disabilities in different provinces. Publish a monthly newsletter called SucsUng (Living power).

Short-term purposes:

• Provide vocational training and employment consultancy service for people with disabilities.
• Recommend courses and music activities - Play sports and join social events in the community.

Long-term purposes:

• Form business groups of people with disabilities
• Improve the status of people with disabilities.
• Promote community awareness of people with disabilities.

Activities at the meetings:

• Sharing information on job opportunities and the way to do business
• Sharing the psychological changes of people with disabilities
• Sharing difficulties in life

Other activities:

• Performances for charity, sports, exchange picnics with the other groups of disabled people.

Short-term purposes:

• Improve knowledge of the members in culture and music.
• Sports training to improve health - Understanding and sharing, visit and help members who are sick and/or having difficulty.

Long-term purposes:

• Set up training groups for music and performance skills for disabled people, develop their abilities and help them live with joy and optimism.
• Get self-equipped with amplifier, microphones, musical instruments.

Objectives:

• Create a playground for students with disabilities by organizing exchange meetings and other activities.
• Assist members with studies and improve their knowledge and social skills.
• Help youth with disabilities to overcome their inferiority complex, confidently express their thoughts and dreams and freely voice their opinions.

Short-term purposes:

• Understanding
• Improving information and language skills for the members

Long-term purposes:

• Raising awareness; making changes in the situation of people with disabilities;
• Improving the quality of life of disabled people;

Activities:

• Increasing the membership by organizing meetings of students from different universities and colleges.
• Organizing regular meetings with useful activities.
• Help members in difficult circumstances or have physical difficulties.

New plan:

• Teaching computer and English to the members;
• Setting a two-year project of computer and English training, and raising funds from different organizations

Objectives:

• Develop and unify Vietnamese sign language system
• Promote independent living to the members so that they can get equality of opportunities, especially in vocational training. The club was established with support from PSBI and now is part of the society of Support for Hanoi Handi-capped and Orphans(SSHHO)

Activities:

• To gather persons with hearing impairments living in Hanoi for the improvement social awareness as well as learning Vietnamese sign language; cooperate with other groups of people with disabilities to exchange
• information and promote social concerns and understanding about hearing impairments, the community and their culture.

Short-term purposes:

• Organize meetings for exchange and sharing
• Provide course on sign language and compulsory education for the deaf
• Do sports training and join music activities.

Long-term purposes:

• All members can use sign language to communicate
• All members are employed
• Obtaining education materials such as sign language materials Lobbying for subtitle in Vietnamese or sign language interpretation on national television

Objectives:

• Sharing information, taking part in the activities of people with disabilities in the region, working on life improvement for disabled people.

Activities:

• Sharing information on employment and doing business.
• Sharing psychological changes of disabled people.
• Sharing difficulties in life.
• Taking part in the activities of people with disabilities in the Region.

Short-term purposes:

• Understanding, sharing and going on picnics
• Learning
• Mutual support in improving life

Long-term purpose:

• Improving quality of life

Objectives:

• Raise awareness of the needs of people
• Create an environment of democracy and equality of opportunities in order to promote free discussion and full and equal participation in all activities of the Group. doing business. The Group meets every two months

Short-term purposes:

• Create an environment for the members to meet, assist peers and exchange information, which can raise awareness, and develop their skills. In this atmosphere, the members can help one another with opportunities to improve their lives and integrate into society
• Promote the interest of society in assisting vocational training and employment for the members so that they can have income generation

Long-term purposes:

• Improve the quality of life of the members with disabilities.
• Strengthen the independent living ability of people with disabilities.

A group of 18 persons with physical impairments. The group plans to continue English and Computer training for its members

The group holds meetings to counsel regarding employment information for its members, and plans to form a service base to employ PWDs.

A group of severely disabled persons. The purpose of this group is to provide training for PWDs and to play sports together

Strategy:

• To gather deaf people to respond and contribute similarly to local society.

Activity:

• Organize a writing class, play sports such as table-tennis, and dancing activities for disabled youth. Organize a sewing course, make furniture and weave wool.

The Club carries out activities such as: teaching Vietnamese and English sign language, playing sports and musical activities together; providing training courses in sewing and making bamboo furniture.

A vocational training center for people with disabilities and orphans, established in July 1993 which provides free-of-charge handicraft training for disabled people and orphans, and job placement as well as teaching Vietnamese language to children with hearing and speaking impairments.

A group of mobility disabled persons with membership of 7.

The club carries out activities to enhance the education level for members, create opportunities to play sports together and provide training course. The purpose of this club is to meet others and form a peer group in the community with similar opinions and benefits.

Objective:

• Vocational training, exchange of information, create a friendly environment for people with disabilities to meet, improve their spiritual life.

Activities:

• Offer vocational training and employment for people with disabilities.
• Organize recreation, exchanges and meetings to learn from other people's experiences.
• Consultancy regarding psychology, health and employment.
• Organize sports and music events of disabled people.

A group of 5 mobility disabled persons whose major activity is to advocate for a free-barrier society and a better life for PWDs.

Enhance the capacity of VNRC to manage the diverse and evolving activities of the Disability Program Deliver effective and appropriate assistance to poor people with disabilities and their families including those thought to be effected by Agent Orange. Program focuses primarily on rural areas and is implemented by the VNRC at the national, provincial, district and local levels. Currently, the VNRC is providing a combination of the following services to over 1000 beneficiary families as part of the pilot activities of the Disability Program:

• Family Survival: Income generation for people with disabilities and their families/activities to improve the standard of living
• Medical: Rehabilitation (including treatment/ surgical intervention, functional and community-based rehabilitation) and/or provision of mobility aids and rehabilitation tools
• Education: Education (basic literacy) and vocational training, and support with job placement and work opportunities Location: Hanoi, Ha Nam, Thun Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Dong Nai. Time Frame: 2001-2004

For rehabilitation projects, AIFO has adopted a community-based approach and is collaborating actively with WHO for supporting and strengthening projects of community-based rehabilitation. The CBR projects supported by AIFO are multi-sectoral, with activities in medical, educational and occupational rehabilitation. Working with disabled persons and strengthening organizations of disabled persons in areas of special interest to AIFO. AIFO has been active in Vietnam since 1992 in two main programs: a CBR program in collaboration with VINAREHA and a program for control of leprosy in collaboration with the MOH. Both programs are focused on the northern region of the country, specifically in areas around Hanoi. The CBR program is co-funded by the European Union Commission and deals mainly with medical aspects of rehabilitation. AIFO aims to identify suitable projects dealing with educational, occupational and cultural aspects of disability in the near future for support.

DED supports existing programs of local partners. Upon request, qualified professionals are sent on the expenses of DED to address the problem of a lack of experienced manpower. In Vietnam, DED contributes through experienced development workers in the fields of technical and vocational training, small business promotion, agriculture/forestry and natural resources management, environment protection as well as in the health sector

Program strategy: Handicap International (HI) is an NGO which aims to support disabled people who live in difficult conditions and in remote areas. HI collaborates with official structures for the implementation of their projects using and improving the available local resources. The goal is to maintain project viability from a long-term perspective, allowing projects to eventually become technically and financially autonomous The goal of the project is to provide isolated people with adapted physical and socio-economic rehabilitation services and follow-up through a community-based network. The project includes the following:

• Community-based rehabilitation network: Volunteers at the village level are trained in order to provide their neighboring invalid persons basic physiotherapy exercises, home-made technical aids and some concrete advice to facilitate their social integration in the community. These volunteers are supervised and advised by district supervisors who are specially trained and are able to identify and refer those disabled persons who need more specific treatment or assistance. The provincial specialists are in charge of the specialized training, activities management and specialized treatments: surgery, physiotherapy, orthopedic devices.
• Development of provincial rehabilitation centers: Support the community-based network, by providing referrals of disabled persons: orthopedic surgery, physiotherapy exercises and orthopedic devices (prosthetics, orthotics, crutches, wheelchairs).
• Development of a central training centre: in Ho Chi Minh City, for the provincial rehabilitation centers for specialized staff such as orthopedic technicians, physiotherapists and doctors.

HVO has been working with the MOH to improve the capacity of the health care sector to provide rehabilitation services for people with physical disabilities. The goals of this nation-wide training project are:

1. To improve the quality of rehabilitation services and care delivered at the provincial level; Contact Address: Reprosentative: Larry Wolfe, Project Director
2. To strengthen the knowledge and skills of faculty members at medical, nursing, and physical therapy schools around the country; and To encourage the development of institutional relationships between U.S. medical and nursing schools and their Vietnamese counterparts The focus of activities after 1995 was further professional development of a nucleus of health care providers' physicians, nurses, and physical therapists, and the initiation and strengthening of university linkages between American and Vietnamese institutions. As of 1998, the project has emphasized the development of a cohesive institutional framework to link and support professionals involved in rehabilitation services as well as broaden the understanding of the needs of people with disabilities, both within the rehabilitation sector and the larger community.

In 1989, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) started its orthopedic program for war amputees at the Rehabilitation Center in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC Center) within the framework of a co-operation agreement signed with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). The ICRC supplied and installed modern machinery for the component section with the objective to upgrade the orthopedic appliances and to increase the production of prostheses, Most prosthetic devices were made from wood at that time. In 1991, a rubber foot was developed in co-operation with an army factory. ICRC expatriates gave on-the-job training to the national prosthetic technicians and physiotherapists in the HCM Center. In agreement with MOLISA, the ICRC polypropylene technology was introduced in the HCM Centre in 1993. The polypropylene (PP) material is light weight , water resistant, recyclable and has a long shelf life. The entire manufacture system switched to that technology shortly after the Centre started to produce orthopedic components with the recycled off-cuts the first phase of ICRC assistance ended in March 1995, when the ICRC terminated its expatriates' presence in Vietnam and put the project under the financial administration by its Special Fund for the Disabled (ICRC-SFD), a body more devoted to development aid. The The staff was reduced to only one national project assistant, backed by ICRC-SFD expatriates' regular visits.

Program strategy: Komitee Twee work is directed at children in need.

The general objective of all MCNV projects in the field is that the disabled persons in general and disabled children in particular be included in the community and society. In order to achieve this goal, MCNV promotes a community-based, comprehensive, holistic and needs-centered approach. That is, MCNV efforts focus on intersectoral collaboration, and orientation to the needs of disabled children. For example, in Dak Lak, support of the disabled started from CBR, since the children need rehabilitation, and to go to school. Thus, the Inclusive Education project was started. Resource centers for CBR and IE was established to provide professional support for those activities. The needs for vocational training, and job placement are being discussed to meet the needs of disabled children. Also, individual support for disabled persons is being implemented. This support generates income and aids rehabilitation. In order to promote further intersectoral collaboration and local initiatives for support disabled children, MCNV signed an MOU with the Provincial People's Committee to confirm MCNV's commitment to support by providing financial and technical support for the plans they would like to have implemented in their province for disabled children. A strategic provincial plan is developed and the provincial government takes responsibility for coordinating and directing of it in the field.

Purpose: Deaf and other hearing-impaired children in selected provinces in Vietnam have access to inclusive education and the opportunity to become accepted and productive members of society.

Objective

1. Children in selected provinces are screened, assessed for hearing impairments and deafness and referred to the appropriate authorities for proper intervention. Objectively Verifiable Indicator: 90% of children age 15 and under in 6 selected provinces were screened with 90% referred to the appropriate authorities for proper intervention within 1 year. Objective
2. To have deaf and hearing impaired children identified, tested, fitted with proper hearing aids if applicable and enrolled in suitable educational programs. Objectively Verifiable Indicator: 95% of identified deaf and hearing impaired children in the selected provinces are correctly screened according to their needs and a viable education program established by the end of 2 years. Objective
3. Trainers in deaf education are trained and pre-school and regular elementary school teachers are skilled/trained to assist hearing impaired and deaf children and their families. Objectively Verifiable indicator: Forty teacher trainers are prepared to train the following cadre: 160 teachers are trained in deaf education techniques and placed in mainstream schools; 50 kindergarten teachers are trained in early intervention techniques and the development of young children who are hearing impaired and deaf; 30 teachers are trained in educational audiology and speech therapy, and are providing audiological services, speech and language therapy in educational facilities for deaf and hearing impaired children by the end of 3 years. Objective
4. Vietnamese Sign Language is completed and being used. Original Objectively Verifiable Indicator: A comprehensive sign language manual and training video are being used and sign language teachers and interpreters are active in the educational system. The main strategy is to reach out to families with specially-trained teachers who will empower the family unit and prepare the child for education and appropriate interventions based on the needs of the child. Approaches will focus primarily on building a sustainable foundation for special education particularly for hearing-impaired and deaf children by preparing a cadre of deaf education teacher trainers, audiological, speech and language specialists. Secondarily, mobilization of the existing educational infrastructure to deliver deaf education and related services to the selected provincial capitals, district centers and communes. Thirdly, the project will reach out to the targeted children and families through the school system and the People's Committees to include them in the process of decision-making and implementation.

Direct clinical services: - Serving amputees at the Prosthetics Outreach Center in Hanoi. - Providing mobile outreach service to the rural amputee population. Prosthetic component development: - Developing modern, functional and affordable prosthetic components. - Advancing standards of prosthetic component technology. Training and education: - Supporting existing prosthetics and orthotics training programs. - Promoting use of modern Automated Fabrication of Mobility Aids (AFMA) technology in artificial limb manufacturing. Technical assistance: Supporting provincial prosthetic/orthotic workshops.

Rãdda Barnen (RB) does not implement Programs but supports partner organizations who work and advocate for children's rights at all levels, supporting NGOs and government agencies to internalize and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The aim is to prevent exploitation, neglect and abuse of children-at-risk. A parallel aim is to support initiatives to protect children in especially vulnerable situations. A priority is to involve children's own participation and to include girls/boys gender perspective. Target groups are children with disabilities, children in conflict with the law, abused children and children exploited through prostitution or harmful labor. Other target groups: children's families and adult workers who come in contact with them. RB cooperates with Vietnamese NGOs, mass organizations, local and central government authorities, research institutes and mass media. Capacity building is included in every project. Radda Barnen also works regionally by promoting child rights in Southeast Asia together with its Save the Children partner organizations.

The aim is to support disabled children to develop according to their ability to improve the understanding and attitudes of communities, and to enable them to participate fully in family and community life. Several features make this a innovative approach in Vietnam:

• The underlying ethos of rights not charity, with parents supported to advocate on their child's behalf.
• Improving access to existing resources in the community by increasing networking among government services.
• Involvement of parents and of disabled adults in decision-making about program activities.

VNAH programs provide:

• Prosthetic, orthotic devices to needy people in Viet Nam with outreach to rural areas, so that the most needy benefit from the program with regular patient follow-up to assure the fit is correct and the patient is doing well.
• Wheelchair manufacture of high quality, low cost chairs especially suited to conditions in Southeast Asia.
• Improved service delivery system through the provision of training and technical assistance at Government of Viet Nam production and rehabilitation facilities.
• Increase mainstream employment opportunities for people with all types of disabilities through assistance to the government by the effective implementation of labor laws and policies to promote the equal employment of persons with disabilities, and projects that provide skill training and job placement for PWD.
• Improve and promote policies and programs for the disabled through technical assistance and training to the Government of Viet Nam and other relevant organizations in Viet Nam with a special emphasis on the new Ordnance on Disabled Persons and Barrier-free Construction Codes and Standards.

These activities have given VNAH deep insights and understanding of the needs of people with disabilities in Viet Nam. To date, VNAH has provided over 45,000 prosthetics and orthotic devices and close to 6,500 wheelchairs in approximately 55 provinces in Viet Nam. Production and delivery of these devices was supported by USAID and a private Foundation in the US and Japan, in collaboration with local DOLISAs, Red Cross and Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Centers in Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Qui Nhon, Da Nang, Thanh Hoa, Ba Vi and private wheelchair producers in Ho Chi Minh City.

VVAF is dedicated to healing the wounds of war to promote reconciliation and friendship between the United States and Vietnam.

• The focus of the physical rehabilitation program for the next three years is to ensure the long-term sustainability of orthotic and prosthetic service provision to people with physical disabilities in northern Vietnam. VVAF will continue to work with Bach Mai University Hospital and the National Institute of Pediatrics to provide an orthotic and prosthetic service. Activities are focused on handing over responsibility for service provision to local Ministry of Health staff to ensure longer term sustainability.
• A new program to be implemented with the Ministry of Defense is the National Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Impact Survey. A partnership accord has been signed with BOMICO (Engineering Command) and the project is expected to be presented to the Office of the Prime Minister for approval in mid 2002. The purpose of the survey is to identify the socio-economic impact of land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Vietnam and to identify high priority tasks for mine action (clearance, marking, mine awareness, victim assistance).

To achieve this goal, the following results are aimed at: - To develop and implement an Orthopedic Care Concept in a rehabilitation center as an example for the northern region of Vietnam; - To train qualified orthopedic technologists at the Vietnamese Training Center for Orthopedic Technologists (VIETCOT); - To identify and use training institutions for the practical experience of third year trainees; and - To implement an information system for the technical aspects of an orthopedic care system. The program is implemented by two GTZ long-term experts, national and international short-term consultants, local professionals and supporting staff. It includes training and skill upgrading for professionals, equipment and orthopedic material. After a consolidation phase of approximately two years (March 2001-February 2003) the German part of the Project will be ending.

The purpose of the program is to enable adolescents with disabilities (AWD) to address their own social, vocational and economic needs within an environment where:

• An awareness of and responsiveness to disability issues exist,
• Adaptive vocational training programs are developed,
• Access to employment and income generation programs exists, and
• A supportive social group network run for and by AWD is facilitated.