Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Society in RA
At the beginning of 2001 NGO Havat formed a coalition of organizations
aiming at participation in the advocacy grant competition announced by
World Learning. The coalition submitted the program named "Integration
of Persons with Disabilities into Society in the Republic of Armenia",
which was acknowledged one of the competition winners being awarded the
grant from World Learning / USAID. The program's task is advocacy of the
rights of the disabled with physical injuries and hard-hearing and deaf
children, and their integration in society. After the earthquake in Spitak
and the Karabagh conflict the number of the disabled with physical injuries
in the republic has come up to 10,000. As statistics shows, those having
auricular problems constitute 2-3 percent of the population. Missing the
precise data about the number of the population in the republic, it makes
hard to show the exact number of those suffering from auricular problems.
The legislation reforms expected in the course of the program implementation
will extend their limits on the hard-hearing children throughout the republic.
The same thing goes for the other beneficiary group - the disabled with
physical injuries. The two above mentioned target groups are in need of
creating medical technical facilities and the corresponding material and
legal climate as a compensation for their deficiencies, which would provide
for them an accessibility to all of the spheres of social life. The program
is called to activate those legislative mechanisms that would foster the
improvement of the above mentioned problems.
Coalition Members
At the beginning of 2001 NGO Havat formed a coalition of organizations aiming at participation in the advocacy grant competition announced by World Learning. The coalition submitted the program named "Integration of Persons with Disabilities into Society in the Republic of Armenia", which was acknowledged one of the competition winners being awarded the grant from World Learning / USAID. The program's task is advocacy of the rights of the disabled with physical injuries and hard-hearing and deaf children, and their integration in society. After the earthquake in Spitak and the Karabagh conflict the number of the disabled with physical injuries in the republic has come up to 10,000. As statistics shows, those having auricular problems constitute 2-3 percent of the population. Missing the precise data about the number of the population in the republic, it makes hard to show the exact number of those suffering from auricular problems. The legislation reforms expected in the course of the program implementation will extend their limits on the hard-hearing children throughout the republic. The same thing goes for the other beneficiary group - the disabled with physical injuries. The two above mentioned target groups are in need of creating medical technical facilities and the corresponding material and legal climate as a compensation for their deficiencies, which would provide for them an accessibility to all of the spheres of social life. The program is called to activate those legislative mechanisms that would foster the improvement of the above mentioned problems.
The coalition headed by Havat also includes the following organizations:
- Paros Disabled Center for Development of Education and Culture
NGO has been registered in 2001 on the base of the only one in the
world Paros Wheelchair Chamber Choir (founded in 1993). Improvement
of social and psychological conditions as well as raise of educational
and cultural skills of physically injured people, and first of all the
most impaired ones - persons with spinal cord injuries, is included
within the frames of the Center's activities. The Center also aims to
get the disabled people employed when possible.
Contact person: Suren Ohanyan, tel. 632958, e-mail: armras@netsys.am, URL: http://www.paros.am. - Iveria Georgian Benevolent Community in Armenia. Founded in
1997, re-registered in 2000. Activities aim to development and strengthening
of relations between Armenia and Georgia, ethnic minorities rights protection,
as well as to solving the problems of the Armenian disabled, improvement
of legislation.
Contact person: president of the organization, member of the National Academy of Sciences Tina Asatiani. Tel. 524823, e-mail: tinatin@netsys.am - New Spitak NGO has acted since 1997 and aims to promote the
process of integration of people with disabilities into society.
Contact person: Hrayr Karapetyan. - Lusastgh Non-Governmental Benevolent Union has been in action
since 1998 in Vanadzor. The organization deals with problems related
to integration of children with disabilities. The Union actively uses
volunteers and cooperates with different public and state organizations.
Contact person: Nune Pepanyan, tel. +051 50062. - Full Value Life NGO. In action since 1998 in Stepanavan. The
organization unites the powers of the city community for salvation of
problems of the disabled.
Contact person: Surik Maghakyan, tel. +056 22058, e-mail: m_suren@freenet.am.
Round Table in AUA
21
February 2002. A round table was conducted in the American University
of Armenia within the framework of program "Integration of persons with
disabilities into society in RA" funded by World Learning / USAID. The
Round table was devoted to disability-related legislative reforms which
are to be submitted to the National Assembly. Representatives of the
disabled NGOs, Ministry of Social Security and Ministry of Culture,
the British Ambassador to Armenia Mr. Timothy Jones, MPs, as well as
other representatives from national and international organizations
participated in the Round table.
After demonstration of a
small fragment of performance of the Paros Disabled Choir recorded in
2000 during the Choir's tour to Great Britain, program director, Chairman
of the Round table Mrs. Tamara Manukyan gave the floor to Mr. Viktor
Dallakyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee On State And Legal Affairs
of the National Assembly. Mr. Dallakyan made the principal presentation
introducing some of the basic changes and additions to the Law on Invalids
which will be submitted to the Parliament. In particular, those changes
are related to definition of the term "disability", the annual state
program on specific issues, provision the disabled children with a special
status, etc.
Representatives
from regional and Yerevan-based NGOs took an active part in the discussion
asking the reporter various questions and making their own suggestions.
A videoroll showing the work of NGO Havat staff with hard-hearing children
was demonstrated after the discussion.
The Round table was an important step towards strengthening of the disabled
NGO coalition and elaboration of legislative reforms aimed at improvement
of situation for persons with disabilities in Armenia.
Copyright © 2001 Havat