UCC Growing Impact 2005-2021
Disability impact upon the disabled persons' daily living, their social relationships, their identity (the view that others hold of them) and their sense of self (their private view of themselves). UCC has come up with determination to impact people with disability and the disabled individual's redefinition of roles takes place through social interaction with family, friends, coworkers, other disabled persons and members of the community. The important difficulty for the disabled is that his disability affects his interaction with others. He cannot rely on old patterns and role expectations. He must therefore reconstruct many of his social relationships with others as he rebuilds his roles and modifies his self- identity. The UBUMWE COMMUNITY CENTER impact to people with disability vis-à-vis to the Community especially in the last year 2019, is referred to in 7 areas:
150 children with disability (18%) in our Inclusive School
Inclusion in UBUMWE COMMUNITY CENTER also has led to skills building and improved self-esteem. It enabled children and young adults with disabilities to be recognized, not for their impairment, but for their learning capacity, their roles in the household, friends and neighbors, making positive contributions to their communities.
90 Young adults have learnt Skills in TVET School
The mission of UCC has allowed people with disabilities to take advantage of the benefits of the same health promotion and development experienced by people who do not have a disability. The Skills development in UCC TVET School leads to an increased earnings and labor productivity, people with disabilities who enjoy schooling tend to be associated with income stability in their community. UCC has proven that a year of schooling completed by an adult with a disability reduces the probability of high poverty.
158 children in different schools across Rubavu District
Education can provide individuals with the skills, experience and empowerment to vocalize their opinions, and therefore ‘inclusion in education can be a first step towards increasing community and social participation for people with disabilities
Over 20 employees at UCC (28%) have disability
- Employees with disabilities can be just as productive as other workers
- their inclusion may even increase overall profit margins.
- They improve individual and family well-being.
- The inclusion of people with disabilities in work/employment can lead to greater economic self-sufficiency, which decreases demands on social assistance.
- Work provides the material means through which to acquire adequate food, clothing, and shelter; access education, health care, and support services; and participate in the cultural, recreational, and social life of one’s community
- Including people with disabilities in the labour market also reduces stigma and promotes inclusion
Over 100 People with disability in the Community Based Rehabilitation & Home visit
UCC Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes significantly improved the well-being and access to services of people with disabilities. People with disability who receive individualised family-based interventions increased their working capacity than those who do not receive the treatment
54 people in Physiotherapy Services
- UCC Physiotherapy Programme help to correct deformity by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercises.
- Our Physiotherapists help people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, advice. They maintain health for people of all ages but especially little children.
More activities that bring a considerable impact to the Community
- Assistive devices
- Teaching Sign Language to children and Parents in the remote areas
- Assisting parents with disability whose children study in our inclusive school
Assistive devices are external devices that are designed, made, or adapted to assist a person to perform a particular task. Many people with disabilities in UCC depend on assistive devices to enable them to carry out daily activities and participate actively and productively in community life.
We found out that access to assistive devices is essential for many people with disabilities in UCC as well as every were else. Without assistive devices, some beneficiaries should never be educated or able to work. We also recognize assistive devices for older people among our beneficiaries as a health promotion and prevention strategy, that is why this component is for prime importance in our daily activities.
We provide to beneficiaries: wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes, crutches, prosthetic devices, and orthotic devices, hearing aids to help people hear or hear more clearly……
We consider sign language as a brilliant tool that helps bridge communication gap that might exist when there is a hearing impairment and even in situations where there is no hearing impairment present. UCC intervenes in promoting and developing this way of communication between parents, relatives and friends of people with hearing impairments. This is done in the remote areas, where we observe a critical gap in this way of communication.
Parents with disability who have children without disability studying in our school, they are given support. They do no pay school fees for their children, instead, they give participation fees (less than a half of regular school fees). Beside this support, UCC helps vulnerable families to get basic needs.
UBUMWE COMMUNITY CENTER thrive for a more inclusive and accessible Community for all. Efforts to increase the quality of education to ensure effective learning for children with disabilities arguably has the potential to improve teaching abilities overall. Inclusive education and employment could encourage ‘greater acceptance of diversity and the formation of more tolerant, equitable and cohesive society.