According to official data, there are 2.6?million persons with disabilities in Ukraine, approximately 6?percent of the population. Nevertheless, most Ukrainian cities and villages are not disability friendly, and progress is slow because of a lack of political will and financial resources, the poor attitude of society towards people with disabilities and a misunderstanding of the problems that they face. Major issues for people with disabilities include mobility, access to education and rehabilitation, and advocacy to address these issues. In addition, over 1.4?million people have been internally displaced since 2014 as a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Among them are over 372,000?people who have physical, sensorial and/or mental disabilities. Along with women and children, these are the most vulnerable victims, and they encounter more difficulties in finding a place in host communities.
To respond to these challenges, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), supported a South-South exchange between local communities and civil society organizations (CSOs) from Ukraine and Belarus to find sustainable solutions to address the needs of persons with disabilities. The theme of the exchange was ‘Nothing for us without us’.
In October?2019, the first knowledge exchange mission was carried out in Belarus for scientists, representatives of social protection departments, heads of rehabilitation centres, CSOs and SGP staff to share good practices and lessons learned during the implementation of the SGP programme.
Many of the ideas and approaches shared are being replicated in Ukraine, including creating non-barrier infrastructure. For example, solar photovoltaic modules are being installed at the Radomyshl Psychoneurological Rehabilitation Centre to provide cost-efficient electricity to the laundry unit, and the grounds are being equipped with outdoor light–emitting diode lamps. These measures provide energy savings of 9,550?kWh per year and reduce the Centre’s energy bill. The project was supported by local authorities, communities, educational institutions and the media, which served as useful channels to promote the benefits of solar energy to the community and private users.
The Government of Belarus, particularly local authorities, strongly support and enhance the engagement of persons with disabilities in environmental and social businesses, such as traditional bakery, pottery and beeswax goods production. In Ukraine, social business models function only in big cities and do not yet exist in rural areas. In this context, the South-South exchange enabled representatives of Ukraine to learn about good models that are applicable to remote communities.
One of the participating non-governmental organizations has launched an online questionnaire1 for local communities and community-based organizations working with persons with disabilities to identify possible pilot projects in order to establish social businesses led by these persons. Other social entrepreneur demonstration projects are also being implemented in Ukraine.
The initiative also created a network and established a community of practitioners to ensure the long-term sustainability of the impacts of the exchange. For example, participants regularly held follow-up digital workshops and peer-to-peer events. Scientists and other members of the network conducted research and developed guidelines that were used as the basis for a digital open course on social inclusion,2 methodological guidelines on environmentally friendly social entrepreneurship for communities,3 and guidelines on social inclusion and tourism.4
Moreover, group members disseminate the knowledge, best practices and materials developed through the local CSO networks to promote social changes. An additional South-South cooperation exchange mission in Ukraine will be carried out in late?2020 or early?2021 to continue to strengthen cooperation on promoting the inclusion and mainstreaming of persons with disabilities.
Every country must ensure equal opportunities for its citizens and develop social policies for the inclusion of persons with disabilities, taking into consideration the national context. This project therefore has strong potential to be replicated in countries that have a similar social, cultural and administrative background.
[2] www.ecoacademy.org.ua/book/socialna-inklyuziya
[3] http://www.ecoacademy.org.ua/publication/ekologo-oriyentovane-socialne-pidpryyemnyctvo-u-gromadi
[4] http://www.ecoacademy.org.ua/publication/inklyuzyvno-reabilitaciynyy-turyzm
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