Community Services to Vulnerable Groups: Expanding Participation of People with Disabilities Quarterly report January-March, 2014

The project has three main objectives: building the organizational, networking, and advocacy capacity of grassroots organizations supporting PWD and their families; supporting advocacy efforts by PWD grassroots organizations to promote inclusion; and supporting the introduction and development of inclusive education for children and young people with disabilities. During the reporting period of January 1 to March 31, 2014, the project was implemented according to its plan and budget. The main focus was on raising awareness and disseminating knowledge about inclusive education among key community groups, including parents, educational authorities, teachers, parents associations, and youth, as well as national authorities. ChildFund facilitated the development of parent capacity through parent self-help groups and leadership courses for parents with children with disabilities. The participants' feedback on the leadership course indicated that it was extremely useful in developing parent leadership competencies and skills. The ChildFund Trainers' Team on Inclusive Education continued its efforts to improve the capacity of key community groups. The collection of five practical manuals on Inclusive Education training programs was completed by the Trainers' Team of ChildFund Belarus. The training modules were piloted by the National Trainers' Team in several regions and were highly esteemed by specialists, parents, and authorities. The manual will be published and disseminated next quarter. The manual serves as a universal tool that contributes to the implementation of inclusive education in the country. For youth with disabilities, vocational and higher education may be the most important gateway to a full and productive life. There are several barriers to access to further education for students with disabilities, including low and limited expectations of others in relation to their interests, abilities, and ambitions. This quarter, significant progress was made towards overcoming this stereotype by piloting joint training on inclusive education for teachers of 16 vocational schools from all over Belarus. The National Institute of Vocational Training and Professional Education facilitated access to this group of participants. The expenses for this training were shared with the National Institute. Access to education authorities (school principals) was improved through a new partner, the State Academy of Post-diploma Education. The Academy is responsible for upgrading the professional knowledge and skills of educational authorities from all over Belarus. This quarter, in partnership with the Academy, 16 school principals from all over Belarus were trained. They were sensitized about the problem of exclusion of children with disabilities and learned and discussed opportunities for inclusive education in their educational institutions. By the end of the training session, the participants expressed their willingness to adopt inclusive education approaches in their schools and to continue to work together and establish a network with other schools working towards inclusion. The project implementation during the period between January 1 and March 31, 2014, resulted in several key outputs. A total of 186 specialists from 63 educational institutions were trained by the Trainer's Team on Inclusive Education and sub-grant recipients. Additionally, 31 parents of children with disabilities improved their knowledge and skills through the leadership course for parents and parent's self-help groups. The third of three sub-grants awarded in the previous project year was successfully completed. Five practical manuals on Inclusive Education training programs were completed by the trainer's team of ChildFund Belarus.