A forum for disabled people

Abstract EN

Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) was mooted as a viable and practical way as opposed to institution based programmes, for the welfare and rehabilitation of disabled people.

In many places, CBR programmes have assisted people with disabilities and have improved their quality of life.

But looked at closely, many of the CBR programmes have provided the benefits and services in a “non-institutional - family based” set-up, rather than adopting a truly “community based” approach.

The disabled people are treated as recipients of the services and do not have an opportunity to participate and express their wish or interest in deciding on matters that concern them.

This paper discusses an approach where disabled people participate in decision making in a forum of their own, drawing on examples from Southern India, and arguing that this is a viable way of extending opportunities for rehabilitation to a maximum number of disabled people in the way that they desire.