Community Services to Vulnerable Groups: Expanding Participation of People with Disabilities Final Report October 2010 – September 2011

The project was implemented by ChildFund Belarus under the Community Services to Vulnerable Groups cooperative agreement with USAID. The project's development objective was to promote democracy, human rights, and development in Belarus. The project's goal was to support initiatives of people with disabilities and extend the range of services provided by local organizations to people with disabilities in urban and rural areas. The project also aimed to support advocacy efforts by people with disabilities and their organizations to promote their rights and increase public awareness. Additionally, the project sought to improve the capacity of grassroots organizations that support people with disabilities and their families. In the third phase of the project, which ran from October 2010 to September 2011, ChildFund Belarus provided technical assistance and financial support to promote the rights of people with disabilities, support their initiatives, and improve their expertise and skills. The project supported initiatives of people with disabilities to extend the range of services provided by local organizations to people with disabilities. Six projects awarded in the previous year were successfully completed, and three new small grants were awarded to local organizations. ChildFund Belarus also provided training and individual consultations on proposal writing and project management to support applicants in preparing their proposals and managing their projects. The project implemented nine small projects by partner organizations with a total amount of $53,694. ChildFund staff provided regular and ad-hoc monitoring visits, demand-driven technical assistance, and consultations to support the projects. The project also supported advocacy efforts by people with disabilities and their organizations. ChildFund Belarus continued supporting activities of the Expert Group on Inclusive Education through a working meeting and round table on inclusive education in Belarus. The project also conducted a training of trainers workshop on parenting skills enhancement for 15 parents with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. The project's outputs and outcomes included significant growth in service development, utilization, and advocacy among partner organizations. The project helped to produce sustainable changes in partner organizations, ensure the sustainability of new services, and boost people with disabilities' advocacy efforts. The project's approach focused on building teams of leaders within existing partner organizations and geographic localities, which helped to produce changes in their organizations and communities. The project's geographic focus was on localities and organizations that had been previously covered by project activities. ChildFund Belarus focused on building teams of leaders within existing partner organizations and geographic localities, which managed to produce changes in their organizations and communities. The project's approach helped to produce sustainable changes in partner organizations, ensure the sustainability of new services, and boost people with disabilities' advocacy efforts. The project's timeframes were from October 2010 to September 2011, and the project's recommendations included continuing to support initiatives of people with disabilities, advocacy efforts, and capacity building of grassroots organizations. The project's implementation details included providing technical assistance and financial support to promote the rights of people with disabilities, support their initiatives, and improve their expertise and skills. The project also implemented nine small projects by partner organizations with a total amount of $53,694.