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Community Based Rehabilitation, an Urban
Experience
Sustainability
Sustainability
is the ability of a project or programme to continue
to address needs as long as the needs exist. Often external support may
be needed to initiate a programme, but if it is sustainable, the programme
will continue even after external support is withdrawn. Usually
sustainability is seen only in financial terms. While this is an
important aspect, it certainly is not the whole. There are many other
factors that contribute to the programme continuing to address needs, or to
it’s closing, when the external support is withdrawn. Very often, the
programme may function differently, but will continue to address needs as
well or even better than before.
It
is important to recognise and build in the element of sustainability before
the external support is removed. We developed the “education” model
with the hope that “trained resources” who have particular knowledge and
skill (whether Local Supervisor, School Children, Family, Community) and who
will continue to live in the community will ensure some degree of
sustainability. The secondary and tertiary care centers
would continue to be a resource for the PWD and the links made will hopefully
continue even if there is no direct and regular contact as during the period
of project operation.
Since
the volunteer nature of the LS is important for the success of the programme,
remuneration has not been projected as an important component of the project.
The LS are given many skills which they acquire free of charge. A scholarship
was given to the volunteers during the training period to offset expenses
involved towards the training. In our project we decided Rs.500/- per month
as the scholarship amount.
It
is evident that the project has an educational value as it trains the
community volunteers to help the disabled and offer services to them. This
also indirectly will benefit a larger population because it serves as a
teaching module for the under graduate, postgraduate and allied health
professional courses, there by sensitising the students and younger
generation to the needs of the disabled in the community. This will ensure
long term beneficial changes in the community through training local
supervisors who will act has resource persons and agents for change to
improve the quality of life for people with disability.
However,
it is not possible at this time to say if this programme will be sustainable
or not in the long term or what form it will take eventually, once the high
input that is currently present is withdrawn. Time will tell.
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