Ms. Lewis says in many countries, people with disabilities are organizing to support disability rights.
CINDY LEWIS: "It’s a very incorrect assumption that people with disabilities are in their community sitting around passively waiting for something good to happen. People with disabilities around the world are getting together and mobilizing and speaking out."
Her group is working with the United States Agency for International Development. The projects bring together disability groups and development organizations in Colombia, Jordan and Ethiopia.
For example, Fundamental is an organization in Colombia for people with mental illness. This group is training its members to become leaders in explaining their problems and urging their communities to treat them fairly.
The Ethiopian National Association of the Blind helped write a training document on how to include blind people in education projects.
The United Nations has a human rights treaty called the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Almost one hundred fifty governments and regional organizations have signed it.
The World Health Organization and the World Bank say people with disabilities should be able to use the same services as everyone else. They call for more laws to give the disabled the same rights and chances to succeed as everyone else. These laws, they say, will help the public understand that people with disabilities also have abilities.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25