Looking back on a meaningful journey with the valuable support from Irish Aid Viet Nam

AEPD’s 2017-2020 Irish Aid Project

(Irish Aid with AEPD)

Overview

With hope of enabling people with disabilities to grow and gain control of their lives, AEPD’s projects focus on enhancing the intellectual and physical capacity of people with disabilities and providing them with the means and resources for their empowerment in socio-economy, access to health care and rehabilitation, disability inclusion in disaster management, and advocacy for disability rights.

For over a decade, AEPD has received immense support from one of our main sponsors - Irish Aid in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, to carry out projects in supporting people with disabilities, which have achieved outstanding success. One of our most prominent projects funded by Irish Aid during 2017 to 2020 period has left a significant impact on supporting young and minority people with disabilities (PWD) to engage and manage their socioeconomic development and environmental setbacks in the area.

Challenges faced by people with disabilities in Quang Binh

According to Quang Binh DOLISA and AEPD’s research, there are more than 45,000 people with disabilities in Quang Binh, 85% of whom face discrimination, unemployment, and poverty issues. 65% of this population is young people who are either unemployed, self-employed, or dependent on families. Plus, households that have people with disabilities often concentrate in mountainous and rural areas, which accentuates the situation since Quang Binh is typically exposed to natural disasters due to its geographical complications and the lack of preparation and prevention, especially in small communes. The local government is not fully equipped due to its limited financial resources and human capital, making it even harder for them to put effort into understanding policies and solving questions related to available resources and projects for people with disabilities. This also comes from the lack of awareness and the inexperience in supporting different cases of people with disabilities.

Those socio-economic, geographical, and political matters put young people with disabilities in Quang Binh at greater risk and more vulnerable levels. Thus, this group became the main target in our project funded by Irish Aid - an international aid program for organizations that address important world issues. This project is one of our most successful and fundamental stepping stones, laying the foundations for AEPD’s future engagement with PWD in Quang Binh.

Project Vision

Our Sustainability and Empowerment framework guided the project: We aimed to create a safe and supportive environment where young and minority PWD in Quang Binh can strengthen their skills and abilities to cultivate and sustain their business endeavours. This principle addresses the beneficiaries' central problem in charity projects: If they only receive resources and funds, it only solves the current issue without tackling the root cause. AEPD’s approach allows PWDs to improve their resilience and capacity, facilitating long-term income generation and societal integration.

Additionally, we hope to bring the resident’s and local government’s attention to the lives of PWDs in Quang Binh. Besides international support, local officers would still play an integral and dynamic role in guiding and supporting PWDs.

 Values Created for PWD and Local Government

1. Increase in PWD’s Employment and Business Management Capabilities.

   AEPD has utilized vocational training workshops, practice projects, and community-based rehabilitation programs to establish a comprehensive and long-term growth map for PWD. Instead of organizing generic employment skill workshops, our programs rely on skill assessments tailored to PWDs and market needs. After gaining a deep insight into PWD’s capabilities and conditions, we provided the essential facilities for the business, trained and guided them in developing clear goals and detailed execution plans for specific periods. This method has ensured our project's sustainability aspect, ensuring PWD achieves full ability to maintain their businesses and continue to grow.

    

    

2. Market Opportunities and Increased Awareness

   The second step in our plan was raising awareness of PWD among communities and local governments. We published books and videos about PWD’s accomplishment and their recovery journeys in English and Vietnamese. We also organized community engagement shows to support PWDs in integrating and connecting with their local community. Our approach stood out because we used PWD's authentic voice to tell their stories and allowed them to engage with the process entirely. This created a sense of community and belonging for PWDs; at the same time, it has opened many doors to many meaningful partnerships for PWDs.

    

    

    

3. Increase Capacity for Local Government, Social Workers, and Related Stakeholders

AEPD believes that great human resources and partner collaboration are crucial to success. We started this phase with a thorough map analyzing the natural disaster hub in the province and its dedicated human resources. This unique preparational step allowed us to implement tailored workshops for local governments to help them create plans for natural disaster prevention and community support. In fact, local governments need to update and improve their practical experience in supporting PWD in overcoming natural disasters. AEPD has tackled this issue by integrating real-life case studies and competition into the curriculum. These activities acted as learning materials and opportunities for the local government to think and prepare ahead.

Results

This project has achieved many outstanding results in the Quang Binh PWD community.

 The Irish Aid 2017-2020 project is APED’s stepping stone towards future initiatives to support PWDs in Quang Binh. As we remain committed to our mission of building intellectual and physical capabilities for PWDs in Quang Binh, we hope to incorporate advanced technology and extensive collaboration with relevant stakeholders to multiple this support system in more communes and mountainous areas of Quang Binh, as well as providing it to more diverse demographics of PWDs in the province.