Project « Partners for Inclusive Development » of Inades-Formation Togo reduces the exclusion of people with disabilities
« Exclusion is more expensive than inclusion »
From local development to inclusive local development, Inades-Formation Togo is focusing now on taking vulnerable groups into account in its daily work and in accompanying communities.
In implementing the Local Governance Support and Endogenous Initiative Valuation Program (PAGVIE), Inades-Formation Togo is implementing a new project called « Communities Partenaires pour une Inclusive Development « . The cantons of Attitogon, Momé Atchangbadè and the municipality of Adéta constitute the target areas of this project, which takes into account vulnerable groups, especially disabled people, who are often excluded from local development.
Three results are at the end of this project, namely:
Persons with disabilities are represented in bodies and participate in the development of their communities;
Basic social services are easily accessible to people with disabilities in local communities;
The economic situation of persons with disabilities is improved.
Inades-Formation Togo, after a basic study in these four (4) communities, with the financial support of its partners, Bread For The World (PPLM) and Christian Blind Mission (CBM), carried out the official launch activities in the zones Targeted and on the training of certain key actors (chiefs, grassroots development committee, opinion leaders, community leaders, religious groups, savings and credit groups, some other partners) on disability and inclusive development.
In addition, four (4) open days as well as radio programs initiated by the local media (local radios) were also organized in these communities in order to awaken citizens’ awareness of the importance of taking into account Disability in community development initiatives.
In this accompanying dynamic, three (3) clusters are mainly affected: the inclusion of grassroots development committees and texts such as development plans, easy access to socio-community infrastructure and financial mechanisms at the grassroots level Especially in rural areas for persons with disabilities and the effective enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities in families and communities.
Changes in the assets of this project
Since its implementation, through training and awareness-raising on the rights of people with disabilities, local authorities in the intervention zones invite disabled people and their associations to community meetings.
16% of Development Committees at the Base have been made inclusive (6 out of 38) and each has a disabled person in the offices. The renewal of the other committees will continue in 2017 and will also be made inclusive.
Inades-Formation Togo now has a key partner represented by the Journalist-Handicap platform as a communication channel to support and strengthen community awareness.
The project helped to change the architecture of some public buildings in Adeta and Momé by making them inclusive through the addition of ramps, thus enabling people with disabilities to have easy access to these buildings. « I can now come to your office, director. » This is the expression of a person with a motor impairment against the Director of the College of General Education (CEG) of the city of Adta.
In this same momentum, Inades-Formation Togo also made its national office inclusive.
