Disability Services Project

Supporting people with disabilities across the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

About This Project

HWC works with a People With Disabilities (PWD) organisation for Haku, the Haku Hatsipito Disability Organisation, which is linked with the Bougainville Disability People's Organisation and held its official launch on 3 December 2018. HWC recruited an AVI Volunteer to work on inclusion of people with disabilities and with the Technical Working Group on designing disability services for Bougainville.

Aims of the Project

The overall aim is to address the significant disability needs of children and adults living in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, PNG, including the Atolls. Contemporary understanding is that disability support requires a multi-element approach drawing on a thorough understanding of the whole person, the context of their life and their support needs.

Key Organisations in the DCR4B Coalition

The DCR4B (Disability Community Rehabilitation for Bougainville) Coalition includes:

  • Hako Women's Collective
  • People With Disability, Bougainville
  • Para Sports (athletes with physical disability)
  • Special Olympics (athletes with intellectual disability)
  • PNG Red Cross, Bougainville branch
  • Halia Social Rehabilitation

Proposal

The initial stage of the Disability Services project is planned as follows:

  1. Needs Analysis to identify needs and set priority goals and directions for immediate progress to address significant disability issues in Buka and Bougainville. Every area in Bougainville has been targeted for a survey. In 2018, the surveys will be returned and provided to CDS for analysis.
  2. Develop an action plan with immediate, short term and long term goals and strategies based on the needs analysis results, and a prospective budget.
  3. Establish a Disability Centre in Buka to provide services for people with disabilities, their families and carers, using the "Hub and Spoke" model. The Disability Centre ("Hub") takes on management responsibilities and can provide short term specialist services and training and development, including train the trainer functions, and may offer some specialised support that cannot be offered in other locations. "Spokes" operate as delivery centres that can be scaled up or down depending upon the needs in that location or area.
  4. Conduct initial Disability Awareness training sessions on topics including Disability rights and responsibilities, Person centred thinking, Holistic assessment and planning.