Advocacy for local ownership and financialsupport for community based rehabilitation of People with Disabilities in Igede, Nigeria.

Context

Igede is a small tribe in Nigeria located in the Middle Belt (region) of the country. It has an estimated population of about 400,000 people, mainly farmers in a typical rural setting. About 98% of the population lives below the poverty level.

About Elim
Elim is an organization for disabled people in the Igede area in Nigeria, about the size of our province of Utrecht. Elim helps to guide them through the medical assistance, providing training and professional training and guide them towards independence.
In Nigeria, no provision for the disabled is existent. A person with a disability is totally dependent on his family and fellow villagers. If a disabled person is ignored by his family and fellow villagers, reality  will be very harsh to him. As from 1987 Elim is committed to protecting the handicapped in this area and to give them a decent life.


Mission Elim
The mission of Elim is the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) of Persons With Disabilities (PWD) and others in need and prevention of Diseases & Disabilities in Igede through the provision of social, economic, educational, medical, spiritual and other services.
 

Activities
The main activities of Elim are:

  • Community Based Rehabilitation Project
  • Quality of Life Project
  • Inclusive Education Project
  • Income Generating Project

In the Community Based Rehabilitation project about 1200 persons with different disabilities are rendered services (arrangement of operations, physiotherapy, support in school fees, Economic Integration, etc.) in the community.
The Quality Life Project is an AIDS project with a focus on education on primary and secondary school.
In the Inclusive Education Project children with a disability receive education in their local school with the Elim staff as resource person and supervisor. The semi-integrated school is now phasing out, because the new approach is Inclusive Education.
The Income Generating Project offers facilities/activities with the aim to generate an income.


Advocacy Project

The need

There is need to work towards sustainability of the programme Elim. This will be possible with both local financial support and creating “ownership” within the communities.

Advocacy project

This project has the goal to get financial support from local sources. The staff are also advocating for vulnerable groups. Efforts are made to improve the social position of Persons With Disabilities, Persons living with HIV/AIDS, widows, women and children.

The main activities within the advocacy project are:

  • Behavior change in the community
  • Involving relatives, communities, churches
  • PR, Radio Broadcasting
  • Supporting self-advocacy and self-help groups
  • Preventing practices of female genital mutilation
  • Finding possibilities of local financial support

The project will run for three years. The donation of the Huisman Foundation amounts € 17.000,-- for the whole period (2011 – 2013).