Community-based Rehabilitation and Development

Holistic approaches to community development and disability Rehabilitation, injury prevention, risk management and insurance methods need to be conceptualised and managed together, not work as separate systems. Risks can be identified, prioritized and controlled to some extent. They can also be insured against, in case calamity occurs.

Insurance and social insurance Insurance is a means of contractually shifting the burden of risks by pooling them. A private sector insurance company collects insurance premium and underwrites (owns) the risk Social insurance is a system by which individuals, employers and/or governments contribute to protecting themselves against risk and underwrite the funding pool themselves The pool is invested on behalf of the owners

UN Definition of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) A strategy within community development for the rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities and social interaction of all people with disabilities. CBR is implemented through the combined efforts of disabled people themselves, their families and communities and the appropriate health, education, vocational and social services

UN Definition of Community A group of people with common interests who interact with each other on a regular basis; and/or A geographical, social or government administrative unit (These concepts ideally structure the management of funds collected and designed to deal with risk)

CBR Program Criteria People with disabilities should be included in CBR at all stages of development with distinct decision making roles Primary objective is the improvement of the quality of life of the community and people with disabilities Encourage positive and flexible working relationships between diverse groups for benefit of all

CBR Should Benefit Whole Community As long as a CBR program is seen to benefit one group of people it will receive very little support It should be presented so as to benefit the broader community of which a particular target group for services are a part

Does society develop in 3 stages? Stage 1: Disabled or disadvantaged individuals form part of a large underclass Stage 2: They are separated from their class origins to become social, segregated groups to be ‘treated’ Stage 3: When disability or disadvantage is no longer necessarily perceived as social restriction (What may this mean for development?)