Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) aims to improve the quality of life of disabled people. CBR strategies involve working closely with disabled people and their families as well as service providers to remove barriers that result in the exclusion of disabled people from full participation in community life. Integral and indispensable to this process is the development of effective training and communication skills of people working in CBR. For CBR to be an effective strategy it is essential that people engaged in CBR activities are able to train others in this field. This new website of Enablement is launched to address in particular capacity building in CBR and especially human resource development as one of the three layers of capacity buidling; i.e.
• Institutional development
• Organisational development
• Training and education
It is hoped that through the launch of this website access to information about CBR training and related training programmes will become more easily accessible. Moreover, it is envisaged that the information on this website will contribute to capacity building in CBR and as such to the further promotion and development of CBR worldwide. Contributions of readers are highly appreciated as long as they relate to capacity building in CBR. Please feel free to submit publications; training material such as case studies and presentations. Wishing you strength and power to become empowering agents of change in societies where people with disabilities often belong to the poorest of the poor; societies that need well-trained CBR staff instead of mediocre staff who received poor training and subsequent cannot deliver what they are supposed to deliver!
Huib Cornielje
Enablement is operating in the field of disability and rehabilitation management and is particularly concerned with people with disabilities in lesser-developed countries. Its specific strengths lie in the areas of policy development, applied research and training in disability and development issues. The development of Enablement is largely in response to several needs and demands made in these areas.
Enablement, based in Alphen aan den Rijn, in the Netherlands, was set up by Huib Cornielje, a rehabilitation expert with vast experience in various projects in Africa and Asia, researcher and trainer. During the past decade a large number of assignments were made in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Enablement began as a research and development agency and later added training programmes in disability and development to their activities. Nowadays the bulk of the work done by enablement focuses on training and education.
Enablement is convinced that the role of people with disabilities within the field of development and rehabilitation should become more prominent than it has been so far. Promising developments related to the emancipation of people with disabilities are taking place in many parts of the world; though it is evident that law and legislation alone is not sufficient to ensure that disabled people do have equal opportunities. These changes require commitments to implement legislation and thus need increasingly innovative professionals who can and will be able to adapt to the changing nature of their role in this field.
Enablement has an extensive network of contacts with organisations and agencies in both governmental and non-governmental sectors. This network includes universities, research and training institutions as well as disability organisations throughout southern Africa, Asia, and South America and Europe.
Enablement promotes sustainable rehabilitation development throughout the world as well as promoting an active participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. Participation of people with disabilities is acknowledged and stimulated as an essential and fundamental right and pre-requisite for a viable, appropriate and efficient development in this sector.
Increasing acknowledgement of the pivotal role of people with disabilities in their own rehabilitation process requires a shift in thinking among rehabilitation professionals. This particularly applies to western-trained and bio-medically trained rehabilitation staff.
