ICDR’s international partnerships empower people with disabilities
In a world where people with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty, and people who live in poverty are more likely to have a disability, the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation (ICDR) is collaborating with groups around the world to empower people with disabilities through research and education.
ICDR, situated within the Rehabilitation Sciences Sector at Temerty Faculty of Medicine, is led by Co-Directors Tim Bressmann and Andrea Duncan and comprised of faculty members and learners from the departments of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute. Together, this interdisciplinary group works closely with people and organizations in eight lower income countries to develop bold and holistic initiatives to meaningfully address the complex needs of people with disabilities and their communities.
“We are interested in the intersection of disability and poverty,” says Andrea Duncan, Co-Director of ICDR. “We know there is a cycle where people with disabilities face many barriers and are not able to rise above.”
Duncan, an assistant professor in the department of occupational science and occupational therapy, adds that “by working with a country’s local partners to address the physical barriers, as well as the social stigma and discrimination barriers, in a culturally appropriate way, we are making changes for people with disabilities around the world.”
One of these initiatives comes from ICDR–Cameroon, who have partnered with the Hope Social Union for the Visually Impaired in Bamenda, Cameroon to host smartphone training to empower people who are visually impaired to better use smartphones.
Smartphones are ubiquitous. And there are a growing number of ways we rely on them to help us with everyday tasks; they help us access information, make purchases, complete banking transactions, and connect with our family and friends.
“Being able to use technology is an important everyday occupation. From a social inclusion perspective, if you're not using a cell phone you can feel excluded from mainstream society, let alone excluded from all the tasks that others can do with their cell phones,” says Lynn Cockburn who co-chairs ICDR–Cameroon with Julius Nganji.
The smartphone training project fills a great need for community-based services in Cameroon. When Cockburn and her team began their work in Cameroon, they asked themselves, “What can we do that would have a great impact? What services might be useful? How can we innovate and do something no one else is doing?”
Mr. Nyingcho Samuel, a long-standing community leader, facilitator, and researcher in the smartphone training project, says his team has received positive feedback from program participants. “One visually impaired woman shared that this was the first time she has had access to touch and feel a smartphone and be able to own one. She said that it was a game-changing experience, as it restored her sense of dignity. Her family and friends now look at her with admiration, seeing the impact the program has had on her life.”
While the smartphone training project is just one example of the impact of ICDR’s work, Prof. Duncan stresses that their work is grounded in collaborative relationships. “When it comes to research and education in global health, we have just as much to learn from our partners as they do from us.” Cockburn adds, “This is not work that you do individually. It must be supported by other people for it to be successful.”