Community based rehabilitation for PWDs is a need

 As the PNG economy faces a downtown, many people in our country are going through tough times. Yes the price of goods and services is rising rapidly and many services like health and education are becoming unattainable for many people in our country. But spare a thought for People with Disabilities (PWDs) who continue to suffer most. If able bodied people are having a hard time and consider themselves 'suffering' then what more can we can for people living with disabilities! They are even facing a situation far more worse. 

I met two staff of the Madang Creative Self Help Centre who visited PWDs along the rural north coast road villages in Madang as part of their community based rehabilitation program. I tagged along with them as they travelled to the north coast of Madang to conduct their community based rehabilitation program for people living with a disability. We visited villages along the north coast road such as Megiar, Dylup and Tokain. 

I believe one of the saddest part of our trip was hearing that two of the PWDs had passed away recently. One was a PWD that has mobility issues - the PWD did not have a wheelchair so that person crawled using their hands.  Usually the PWDs with mobility issues would have wheelchairs but I think you also have to note that many rural areas in PNG are not suitable for wheelchairs as the ground surface is uneven and jagged in many places. There needs to be more innovation in developing mobility equipment for PWDs that fit the PNG landscape. 

The Madang Creative Self Help Centre can do so much as it is also limited in its capacity. The Centre runs two programs a) A community rehabilitation program b) Inclusive Education Program. The inclusive education program is one where children within the Madang town vicinity who have a disability can get an early childhood education. The program is supported by the PNG Government through the National Department of Education. The Community Based Rehabilitation program, on the other hand, is run by the centre and is entirely voluntary. Its focus is on supporting the inclusion and participation of PWDs in Madang's development and livlihood.