Mosques, Schools, Hospitals Made Accessible to Disabled Afghans

CPI has been at the forefront of developing practical guidelines for the construction of physical accessibility ramps in Afghanistan.

With special funding from the Weapons Removal and Abatement section of the U.S. Department of State's Political Military Affairs Department, CPI has developed pilot projects in conjunction with three of its implementing partners. Each partner undertook physical accessibility project sites at key public buildings in different provinces where unmet needs were prioritized and where security conditions permitted the projects to be undertaken.

In Kabul, Accessibility Organization for Afghan Disabled (AOAD) developed and implemented access ramps at four locations, including three mosques: a neighborhood mosque that functioned as a polling station in last year's parliamentary election; a larger community mosque with a rare co-educational madrassa; and one of the highest profile mosques in all of Afghanistan, the Eid Gah Mosque, where several VIPs regularly worship and where important funeral prayers of martyrs are held. For its fourth accessibility project, AOAD selected the Antoni Infectious Disease Hospital, an important referral site for tertiary care and the only such facility in the country.

In Kapisa Province, north of Kabul, Afghan Amputee Bicyclists for Rehabilitation and Recreation (AABRAR) developed and implemented access ramps at several diverse sites. These included the main mosque of the capital city, which became the only physically accessible mosque in the entire province, the Ministry of Information and Culture, and the Ministry of Education. Several public schools throughout the rural community were also ramp sites in the AABRAR project, each selected based on feedback from local authorities about their priorities.

In Balkh Province, in the north of Afghanistan, Afghan Landmine Survivor Organization (ALSO) constructed access ramps at several educational settings across Mazar-i Sharif, the main city of Balkh. The sites selected included co-educational elementary schools, boys' high schools, girls' high schools, and the Balkh University making it one of the few institutions of higher learning in the entire country with accessible buildings.

The photos linked to this posting are from field mission inspection visits conducted in December, January, and February by Matthew Rodieck (CPI-AFG Program Manager) and Zabiullah Azimi (CPI-AFG Program Coordinator).

On the Road in Cambodia

Clear Path Southeast Asia Program Director Melody Mociulski is visiting programs and partners in Cambodia with Board of Directors President Laurie Miller.

Mid-ninety's and three showers today. Guess I shouldn't complain as our taxi driver told us it was up to 44 degrees Celsius last year during the hot season. And yet, we saw a couple young Cambodian girls wearing jackets yesterday.

Laurie and I met with our implementing partner, CVCD (Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development) today. After a year of email and Skype, it was delightful to have face-to-face time with Sama and the team. It is remarkable to see their strides over the past year on the road to sustainability as an organization and as individual staff members. Both Saveth and Sylong have made significant improvements with their English (definitely important to me as I have no sense of Khmer).

I told them about my interest in savings programs, a major mind shift to go from "borrow & spend" to "save first / spend later." I shared with them that I met with members of an organization in Thailand that is doing this successfully in a few of the Burmese communities.

Saveth blew me away when he explained that they are already piloting a savings project out at the Farmers Co-op. They laid the groundwork by discussing with the villagers the benefits and the mechanics, and they're moving forward. For me, it was a tangible example of how far CVCD has come. Not only are they being creative, but they are thinking strategically, financially, and most definitely, compassionately.



Sama took Laurie and I out to one of the newer squatter communities schools on the outskirts of town. This isn't a program funded by CPI, but I believe that much of their success is due to the capacity building support provided by CPI. These schools are CVCD's core strength and a visible example of the difference they are making in the lives of Cambodians.

After a half hour bumpy, dusty ride in the tuk tuk, we turned down a dirt 'lane' that was barely visible. Families living in this community used to live on the streets after being forced out to the outskirts of town by the government. It resembles a shanty town but is definitely an improvement for these families. Turning a corner with many curious faces staring out at us, we arrived at the one-room school where 24 boys and girls were taking exams.

CVCD built the school and provides a very dedicated teacher, school supplies and one set of uniforms for each child. When the children move on to secondary school, CVCD provides each child with a bicycle for transport to school. Without the bicycle, they would not be able to attend school given the distance and their responsibilities to their families. These children would not have an education without this opportunity. They are the hope for the future for their families and for Cambodia, and are thoroughly motivated to learn.

CPI Helps Raise Funds for School for the Deaf in Kabul

CPI organized a fundraiser event to support a needy School for the Deaf in Kabul. On Friday, Feb. 11, art work produced by students and staff of the School for the Deaf went on sale to raise money that will keep the school operational during a funding gap.

The school is a public, free, Ministry of Education-certified, co-educational facility located in the Khair Khana neighborhood of Kabul. In service since 1994, the school had been operated by the Family Welfare Focus (FWF, an Afghan NGO), along with clinical support and vocational training for deaf children in grades 1-12. They have recently found themselves facing a short-term funding gap which has left them struggling to cover their operational budget for January through March. (Beginning April 1st, they have donor support in place again).



Closing the school for three months would certainly have jeopardized the progress of the more than 300 students currently enrolled and create obvious financial difficulties for the school's highly dedicated teachers (most of whom are women).

While the FWF School for the Deaf is not a CPI implementing partner organization for victim assistance programming, CPI's goal was to help them help themselves through organizing this first-ever fundraiser. The four-hour event generated more than $2,000 in sales of artwork towards the school's operating costs.

Subsequently, the staff of the Kabul offices of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) have organized a follow-up art sale fundraiser in this same style but at Kabul's Serena Hotel on Feb. 18. This follow-up event was organized by JICA staff as a direct result of CPI's original efforts at bringing attention to the FWF School for the Deaf.

Afghan Cricket Team Wins Despite Disabilities

There are times when the term "disabled" simply doesn't apply. That's definitely true for the cricket team sponsored by Clear Path International in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province. Although team members all possess some type of physical disability, their winning record against completely able-bodied opponents calls into question whether labeling them as the disabled cricket team is indeed appropriate.

The team was created by CPI's partner, Afghan Disabled Vulnerable Society (ADVS), to provide sports activities for youth with physical challenges, and to change public perceptions about the role of disabled persons in the community. Most of the players live in Jalalabad City, the bustling epicenter of the province near the Pakistan border. They are landmine survivors, young men who have contracted polio, or who've suffered in other ways from violence or disease related to war and the lack of medical care.

And yet they excel at competitive cricket. These men have played together for more than two years, having won several matches against teams without a single disabled player. Recently, they won the overall trophy in a five-team tournament in Jalalabad. Over three days, they defeated each of the opposing teams, none of which had disabled members.

Through its expert coaches, ADVS trains young men for physically challenging sports, teaches them cooperative and team-focused skills and shores up their self-esteem.


ADVS is one of several Afghan organizations that partner with Clear Path to assist persons with disabilities, including survivors of landmine and cluster munition accidents.

CPI's Afghan program, funded by the Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, has already helped more than 16,000 people with disabilities in the war-torn nation. CPI also assists victims of war in Vietnam, Cambodia, along the Thai-Burma border and in Lao PDR.

By CPI Afghan Program Manager Matthew Rodieck

Mines Advisory Group: Casualties from Landmine & Unexploded Ordnance Rise

Photo Credit: Mines Advisory Group

Our friends at Mines Advisory Group have written about the increase in casualties from unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, where Clear Path International has been providing victim assistance since 2001. Clear Path began in the most heavily mine impacted areas of Cambodia with vocational training programs and shipments of medical equipment to support hospitals. CPI established the Phum Seam Farmers' Cooperative and Rice Mill in 2006 to provide socio-economic and agricultural support to landmine/ERW survivors in three districts in Battambang. In 2010 CPI and implementing partner CVCD initiated a new micro-credit project in Kamrieng District in Battambang Province, one of the areas recently cleared of mines by MAG.

The number of landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties in Cambodia rose by 17 per cent to 286 last year, underlining the continued need for MAG's lifesaving work in the country.

Figures from the Cambodian Mine/Explosive Remnants of War Victim Information System (CMVIS) show that 71 people died and 215 were injured as a result of 150 accidents, the same accident total as recorded in 2009.

Read the rest of the story here.