GEMPITA

I went to training on Disability, Gender and development in Bangkok on March 8- 21, 2010. The training was held in APCD (Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability) building, it was supported by APCD and JICA. I was representing GEMPITA (as SEHJIRA’s partner) and also as a sign language interpreter for my friend Angkie Yudistia from SEHJIRA Foundation.

The participants of the training were representative of self-help organizations of persons with disabilities from countries of South East Asia, including Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, The Socialist of Vietnam, and The Kingdom of Thailand. The objective of this training is to empower persons with disabilities as agents of change and to promote an inclusive, barrier-free and rights based society for all. From Indonesia, Sehjira Foundation and HWPCI Ternate-Maluku were selected as representatives from Indonesia.

Since the first day of the training, I was so amazed with the condition of the building which is being used to conduct the trainings and also as our accommodation. It is so accessible in every aspects for all types of disability, kindly refer to the pictures as I am so speechless to describe it in words.

They were so many positive things that I got during the training. One of it is how we perceive disability itself. There are two different points of views or models: Medical model and Social Model. Medical model sees that disability is your family and your own personal problem; it means that as a person with disability (PWD) you have to be treated as a patient, go to rehabilitation center. And if you are not succeeded to get a “cure”, it will be means that you are dysfunction as a person.

On the contrary, social model sees disability as social problem. It becomes a social problems because it is related to accessibility. Accessibility creates opportunities that enable all persons to have access to enhance their life with their own capacity.