Lankan Team Takes Lessons from State : THIRUVANTHAPURAM

Local bodies of Sri Lanka are to follow the footsteps of their neighbour in addressing the issues of people with special needs.

A delegation of 15 senior officials from Sri Lanka, who are associated with the North-East Local Services Improvement Project (NELSIP), are on a visit to various institutions in the state which serve the mentally and physically challenged persons.

Director in-charge of the Centre for Disability Studies Beela G K addressing the Sri Lankan delegates who visited the Centre 
******************************************************

Nine members of the delegation paid a visit to the Centre for Disability Studies (CeDS) at Poojappura here on Wednesday as part of their visit aimed at understanding how disability issues are being addressed within the context of the local self-governments.

Addressing the Sri Lankan delegates, the director in-charge of CeDS, Beela G K, said that the major objective of the Centre was developing assistive tools for the disabled.

“We have two areas of operation - to develop tools that cater to the material needs of those with special needs and to conduct research and educational programmes aimed at  their welfare. The Centre conducts programmes for the prevention, early detection and intervention and rehabilitation,” she said.

The Sri Lankan delegation includes Mayor of the Jaffna Municipal Corporation Y Pathgunarajah, Mayor of Akkaraippattu Municipal Council Athaulla Ahmed Zackie, NELSIP officials and representatives of various local bodies.

The team had already paid a visit to the Buds Special School for Mentally & Physically Challenged Children, a collaborative venture of Kudumbashree, on Tuesday to learn more about the methods they adopt to address the educational needs of students with special needs.

“Basically, the focus of the Sri Lankan project is different from ours. Our beneficiaries are those with innate disability while their programme mainly aims at those who suffer from the health consequences of the civil war,” Beela said.

“We are focusing on understanding the mode of instruction of various educational and vocational training programmes organised for those with special needs and the possibilities for successful rehabilitation programmes. Our country is aiming at instituting local bodies in ensuring a self-dependency for the disabled and increasing their chances for a career and vocation, just like India. However, the projects for the benefit of such persons are still at a nascent stage in our country and this programme is expected to enhance its momentum,” a spokesperson of the delegates said.

An interactive session with the representatives of the Centre and the delegates were also conducted.

The visit was coordinated by Anand Mathew, the programme manager of the Institute of Social Sciences.

The team that arrived on Monday under NELSIP, a project supported by the World Bank, will be  in the country till Sunday.

Source :  The New Indian Express , 20th December 2013