Research Center for Inclusion

Formerly known as NLR Mekong

Social inclusion

Research Center for Inclusion aims to enhance social inclusion of persons with disability, including those affected by leprosy through:

          • building capacity for stakeholders and community organizations on inclusion of persons with disability;
          • improving access to public health services;
          • developing career & study orientation programs for youth with disability or from leprosy-affected families;
          • increasing participation of persons with disability in social activities, particular outdoor activities and in decision making processes.

Our social inclusion interventions  are embedded in projects such as Integrated rehabilitation projects for persons with leprosy-related disability in  provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Da Nang and Hai Duong, Empowering project for Cambodian and Vietnamese deaf to fight against stigmatization; and activities such as  organization of learning visits, creation, entertainment, sports and games for children with disabilities, delivery of vocation training and youth with disability-led cafeteria.  

CURRENT PROJECTS

Empowering Cambodian and Vietnamese deaf to fight against stigmatisation 2020-2021

This project is sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the VOICE* program (Netherlands).

The objective of this project is to empower Cambodian and Vietnamese deaf people  by building skills on leadership and policy influencing and building confidence through public discussion and exchange visits to an oversea country in the Asian region. It also builds the alliances of deaf people between Cambodia and Vietnam that aims to bring a stronger voice at the regional level to the global level to fight stigmatization against deaf population.

Duration: from 1/1/2020 to 31/03/2021

Implementing organizations: Research Center For Inclusion (SPO) in combination with 2 partner organisations (PO): HandSpeak Vietnam and DDSP (Disability Development Service Program) Cambodia.

Project areas: Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam and Pursat Province, Cambodia.

Project components:

    1. Capacity building for young deaf people: Organise trainings on deaf identify, culture, leadership, policy influencing, communication; Refer the deaf for studying sign language in DDP/KT (Deaf and Development Program and Krousar Thmei; Mentoring trained deaf trainers in Vietnam;
    2. Organise exchange visits between Cambodia and Vietnam;
    3. Organize events in Cambodia and Vietnam: (1) Sensitise local key persons, local partners and DDSP staff on sign language, disability inclusion and culture of the deaf to promote the deaf's participation in society in Cambodia. (2) Support Deaf representative to attend the monthly meeting of communes and districts (Pursat, Battambang and Kampong Chhnang); (3) Organise provincial workshop in Cambodia for the deaf, stakeholders, NGO and local authorities to discuss and document stigmatisation-related issues to the deaf; (4) Organise Deaf Day/Disability Day in Pursat in Cambodia to raise awareness and increase knowledge of the deaf on their rights; (5) Organize reflection workshop and final/project closure meeting in Cambodia (Keys persons, deaf representatives including HandSpeak, DDSP and NLR Mekong), 70 persons in Pursat; (6) International Week of the Deaf in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to raise awareness about Deaf community and Sign Languages; (7) Organise Deaf Forum event led by deaf leaders/trainer in Vietnam;
    4. Awareness raising on the rights of the deaf via local radio casting and national television;
    5. Linking and learning: best practices and stories from deaf leaders, deaf community in Cambodia and Vietnam.

* VOICE is an initiative by The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs  and is executed by a consortium between Oxfam Novib and Hivos