The Gambia
VSO in The Gambia: Disability programme
The Disability programme's aim is to improve the lives of disabled people in rural and urban areas, through empowerment and improved services. Disabled people are marginalized in the development process and there are few other international organizations working with Disabled People's Organizations (DPOs) in the Gambia, so this is a niche where VSO can have a big impact.
Initially the programme will aim to strengthen Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) to take the lead in the empowerment and support of people with disabilities. This project will be working with seven DPOs on a jointly-developed programme.
Key objectives of VSO The Gambia's Disability programme are:
- To improve the organisational and management capacity of DPOs in order that they are more effective
in supporting Disabled groups by:
- a) providing support to the day to day needs of people with disabilities in the country
- b) representing and advocating the rights of people with disabilities effectively at the national level.
- To increase awareness of disability issues so that people with disabilities can be fully included within all levels of Gambian society.
- To increase collaboration between DPOs and service providers in order to improve referral and access to appropriate services.
VSO intends to work with the DPOs in The Gambia in partnership: sharing skills and knowledge at all levels. This will include the placement of experienced VSO volunteers in relevant organisations to undertake the following key Intervention Strategy: capacity-building advice, fundraising and proposal writing, and awareness-raising campaigns. The strategy VSO and the DPOs will employ to address these three components has been planned initially as a 3-5 year programme.
Read more:
- Read about VSO volunteer Alvean Jones (a prominent member of the Deaf community in Ireland and presenter of the Hands On television programme) and her experiences of working with the Gambian Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Read about VSO's other programmes in The Gambia
- Read about VSO's work in other countries