Social Integration for the Disabled: An Opportunity for Collaboration

How does one ensure that children with disabilities and their family get the opportunity to enjoy a full life? How does one create conditions for the social integration of children with disabilities and prevent their institutionalization? To answer these questions, the BOTA Foundation’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program organized two regional forums to discuss collaborative efforts between local governments and non-profit organizations for the social integration and protection of children with disabilities.

On regular site visits to enroll beneficiaries into the program, CCT specialists meet separately with the impoverished families of the disabled children, local and state government officials, as well as representatives from non-profit organizations within each community. The Social Integration Forums are a BOTA initiative to bring together not only the parents of children with special needs, but also all of the concerned stakeholders, among them: representatives of the Ministries of Health, Education, Culture and Sports, and Children’s Rights and Protection; kindergartens, boarding schools, and child health providers; NGOs, media outlets and businesses.

Participants shared the perspective that years working in this field have given them.

Maira Suleyeva,the General Director of the Public Organization for Disabled People KENES (Almaty), spoke about “Models for Pre-school Inclusion” in her work to rehabilitate children with disabilities.

Yelena Kolmogorova,the head of the NGO Coalition on Inclusive Education in Almaty, shared her practical experience and methods for mobilizing the community and volunteer involvement.

Murat Suleymenov,the director of a regional boarding school for deaf children, shared his belief that it is very important to establish collaboration between vocational schools and businesses: He explained that, “One of the city’s NGOs is now teaching our deaf students cooking skills. It is essential to ensure that after boarding school, these young people will be able to find employment, earn a salary and feel that they are full members of society.”

Boris Pissarev,the Director of NOVOPEK LLP, shared his idea that children with disabilities should be able to gain employment and to contribute to society: “In order to promote the academic process [for students with disabilities], it is necessary to establish contact with the social protection authorities.”

As a result of the lively discussions, many recommendations were tabled and a Plan of Action was developed to ensure greater collaboration in the future.  The recommendations and the Plan of Action will be circulated to all stakeholders who renewed their commitment to the social integration of disabled children in their communities.

BOTA’s Conditional Cash Transfers Program is an innovative social welfare mechanism, which seeks to improve the lives of the children within families suffering from poverty by increasing the child’s access to health, education and social welfare services. CCT specialists conduct site visits to enroll into the program impoverished families with pregnant and lactating women, children (ages 4-6), adolescents (16-19) and children with disabilities.