Dare to Care

Social Challenge and Innovative Solution

Poverty and disability often go hand in hand. 80% of all people with disabilities live in developing countries. Nepal is one of the poorest countries of the world. Most people with a disability receive no care, nor education. Besides, this group of people faces various types of discrimination, exclusion and negligence, often based on religious, cultural or misinformed ideas. This largely hinders their rights and equal access to basic services and inclusion in society. The negative impact on the independence and income of the individual also leads to unused human capital and gross losses in economic development.

In 2011, Karuna Nepal launched Inspire2Care to ensure inclusion of the most vulnerable groups within the communities. It aims to prevent disabilities and to rehabilitate the children with disabilities using a community-based approach. From the beginning Karuna encourages poor rural communities to take leadership and responsibility. Within the existing government system Karuna establishes a local committee and trains a community rehabilitation worker in communicative, medical and physiotherapy skills in every village. He or she is on the pay roll of the local government (municipality) and together with a local committee and the parents, he or she establishes rehabilitation goals and carries out a yearly intervention plan for every child and adult with a disability. Local auxiliary health workers are also trained in prevention of disabilities and supported in establishing a more effective maternal child health care system, such as the mobile tracking of pregnant women and their required antenatal check-ups and delivery preparation.

Thanks to Karuna’s awareness events