INCREASING ROLE OF

NGOS IN COMMUNITY
BASED
REHABILITATION

AJLA JAVAID
(BSPO,MS BMS)
LECTURER RMU
 INTRODUCTION:
• NGOs, (non governmental organizations), are defined as
“voluntary social welfare agency” which means an
organization, association or undertaking established by a group
of persons for rendering welfare services.

• It depends on public subscriptions and, donations or government

aids and as registered as voluntary welfare agency under
registration control ordinance 1961.

• These organizations have direct contact with the clients and

administrative services in one or more broad fields of social
work, family welfare, child welfare etc.
 CONT…
• It is recognized that NGOs have played a significant role in the
development of rehabilitation services for persons with
disabilities worldwide. It initially took an institutional, charity-
based approach.

• Present day developments, however, favor a participatory,

community based approach, complementing and liaising with
Government plans and services, and working with all the
stakeholders’ groups.

• NGOs and Governments vary in their capacity to change their

working practices to achieve these aims.

• In the area of disability, the challenge is whether local NGOs have

the qualities that can effectively influence power and move
resources in favor of PWDs and CBR services.
 Development of an NGO:
• Phase I : Mostly the NGOs are at first organized as an emergency
service providers when some natural disaster happens like earth
quake, flood, land slide, epidemic etc.

• Phase II: Then gradually they take up people’s welfare oriented

development program such as setting up health post , saving and
credit groups for women, starting literacy classes etc.

• Phase III: Gradually they try to empower the marginalized people

and to undertake advocacy role with the government, power
holders in the society and to promote international solidarity.
 TYPES:
• Types of local NGOs working in the area of disability are:

1. ORGANIZATIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES:

Organizations for persons with disabilities have been on the scene
for the longest period of time, and tended to be focused on
specific impairment groups and were charity or medically based.
Their membership often has a common denominator
such as:
• Local community members living in the same geographical areas
such as traditional organizations.
• Religious organizations/associations.
• Professional membership.
 CONT…

2. ORGANIZATIONS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (PWDs):

Organizations of people with disabilities were also established on the
premise of disability, for example, organizations dealing with the
blind, the deaf.

The emergence of organizations of persons with disabilities, is a

relatively new development that is timely and in line with a slogan of,
“nothing about us without us”.
 CONT…
3. ASSOCIATION OF THE PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES:
• The organizations/associations of the parents of children with
disabilities have emerged largely as a consequence of CBR.

• They are recognized as pivotal organizations looking into issues

affecting children with disabilities.

• These organizations were formed as a felt need, because parents

of children with disabilities organizations, neither fitted into
organizations of PWDs, or those for persons with disabilities.
 CONT…
• The wide range of interests and perceptions reflected in the
membership of these three types of disability related NGOs, is
apparent from the different activities in which they are engaged.

• These vary from institutional care, to educational projects, to

financial support.

• Recent developments, have embraced a more socially orientated

focus on participation, advocacy and rights.
 • Disabled people want:
• Quite different images and messages

• That they are full citizens

• Their rights are denied

• The way non-disabled people have built society excludes many

disabled people from public places and social life.

• Disabled people demand:

• The opportunity to acquire resources through work (not charity)

• An end to portrayal of them as objects of pity

• An end to images which damage their dignity and social standing.

• “To boldly go where everyone has gone before.”

 ROLE OF DISABILITY NGOS IN
PROMOTING PARTICIPATION AND CBR PROGRAMS
• Resource mobilization;

• Community mobilization and sensitization;

• Community education and training;

• Attitude and behavior change;

• Capacity building;

• Mechanisms for social economic empowerment;

• Research and information dissemination;

• Networking, lobbying and advocacy.

By participating in these various ways, the local NGOs

have played a linking role between the grassroots and international
organizations, which have fostered the development of CBR.
 CONT…
• Local NGOs have the potential to be an important instrument and
catalyst for social change. For this to happen, there must be a
quantum shift in how CBR is perceived, and crucially, in the roles of
all professionals, disabled activists and the community members
involved.

• Rehabilitation of PWDs needs a holistic approach to effectively

address their felt needs and address the problems and challenges,
that they and their families have to face.

• CBR recognizes four broad categories of rehabilitation, namely:

• economic,
• social,
• educational and
• medical.
 CONT…
• The role of the local NGO is to support the development of all three
areas, but the implementation of these forms of rehabilitation, calls
for the involvement of different organizations concerned with:
• Advocacy
• Access to information
• Attitudes and attitude change
• Such involvement enables CBR to bring about change for disabled
people, their families and the people in the community.

• The CBR philosophy focuses on the fact, that most people in the
community do not understand disability and do not accept disabled
people as equals.

• To improve the lives of disabled people, a CBR program must also,

therefore, try to change community attitudes and behavior. Small,
local disability focused NGOs are in a unique position to facilitate this
 Role of NGOs in education of special children
NGOs can aid in education of children with special needs in the
following ways:

1. Development of need based curriculum for different target groups.

2. Development of methodology to adopt the National Curriculum to

local situation i.e. Local Curriculum Development.

3. Development and dissemination of graded learning materials for

illiterates and neo- literates specially for girls and women.

4. Development of learning materials related with improvement of

quality of life and income generation.
 CONT…
5. Organization of training of literacy instructors, supervisors and
local organizers working with NGOs.

6. Various evaluation and research studies.

7. Development of Community Learning and Development Approach

and setting up Community Learning Centers in different villages to
combine learning with community development.
 NGOs help in imparting education by:
• Establishing special schools and providing funds to run them.

• Providing an integrated and inclusive environment.

• Providing a barrier free environment for special children.

• Providing trained teachers, open schooling system and alternative

education.
CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS OF LOCAL NGOS IN
PROMOTING PARTICIPATION

• Financial constraints

• Doubts about their credibility

• Insuffi cient man power

• Lack of variance

• Absence of quick results

• Unhealthy competitions
 HOW CAN NGOS’ PARTICIPATION IN CBR BE ENHANCED?

• International donors and the government should build the capacity

of local NGOs into their plans and programs, so that
complementary activities can take place, and the coordinated
approach can thereby safeguard against wasting resources.

• With the current privatization strategies in developing countries,

NGOs should build skills that enable them to compete with the
private sector in contracting Government jobs, which need action
at the community level.

• While the private sector may have better skills in bidding for
government jobs, the NGOs have a wider experience in working
with communities.
 CONT…
• NGOs need to ponder and ask themselves some of the critical
questions to enable them understand participation:
1. How is participation taking place?

2. Who is participating?

3. Does participation help people to participate in decision making,

by building up their experience?
 NGOs in PAKISTAN:
• The religious motivations were blended with humanitarian
considerations, coupled with civic (citizenship and patriotic belief).
The solution of social problems on self-help basis was necessary for
the successful future existence of independent country.
• With all these motivations, people began to take interest in social
welfare activities individually and collectively.
As a result of these efforts a fair majority of voluntary
and semi-government agencies like:
• Organized pilot project
• Al khidmat foundation
• Edhi welfare trust
• Fatmid foundation
• Ansaarburni trust
• Shaukat khanum memorial trust
Come into existence in different functional fields.
 CONT…
• The areas of operation of these agencies ranges from Mohallaas to the
province and even national level.

• Pakistan is still in its developing stage. It is committed to be a welfare

state. But in the developing process, it is not easy for the government to
solve each and every problem of the country. Such problems can be easily
solved through voluntary efforts of the people.

• As voluntary agencies deal with the people directly so they can be well
aware of the needs of the people and can make suitable programs to
solve them by utilizing the local resources.

• Voluntary agencies can create social consciousness and spirit of self help
among human beings and motivate them to take role in welfare activities.
 CONCLUSION:
• NGOs have played a very significant role in pioneering CBR programs.

• Their ability to be accountable to donors, deliver services at community level

through consulting with the beneficiaries and to be flexible, are largely
responsible for the metamorphosis of CBR and arguably, its survival as a
viable strategy.

• Their efforts have undoubtedly increased community awareness about

issues affecting disabled people.

• This has been done through the combined efforts of the key players by
coordination, collaboration and increased information dissemination.

• They have been continuously aware that rehabilitation of persons with

disabilities encompasses various stakeholders, persons with disabilities, their
families, local leaders, service financiers such as the government and
international agencies, who all need to compliment each other, through
participation in various roles.
 CONT…
• NGOs paly an important and significant role in the development
and provision of social services for meeting human needs. In every
crisis, natural or man made, the NGOs role in supplementing and
completing Government efforts have been outstanding.

• Participation by local NGOs has so far, been very crucial in the

implementation of CBR Programs, but as Governments take on
more responsibilities, the challenge for NGOs is to lead the way in
sharing its expertise of how to work in a participatory way, at
community level.

• This needs to be done in a complementary and coordinated way, so

as not to compete in the implementation or fund raising for CBR
programs in developing countries.