Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo – Kadiwaku Foundation DRC and University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration organized a training in strategies for cooperatively advocating for the rights of people with disabilities for representatives of more than 60 community, governmental, and human rights organizations. The training was held in Kisangani, on 11-13 January 2022.
Despite a new organic law aimed at protecting and promoting people with disabilities’ human rights and a new minister charged with representing underprivileged groups, people with disabilities still face challenges and lack economic and educational opportunities, and they are confronted with employers’ inaccurate assumptions about their abilities.
The Kadiwaku Foundation partnered with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration to provide this training, which focused on enhancing the civic and political participation of people with disabilities as well as their access to health and social services. The training brought together more than 60 participants, representing community, governmental institutions, human rights organizations, business and corporation and they were educated to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities in local, regional, and national government institutions, and disability rights advocacy was expanded among persons with disabilities and the general population in Kisangani, Congo.
The presence of Her Excellency Minister Irene Losambo, who reaffirmed her desire to urge the central government to increase the budget of her department in order to implement the recommendations made by the participants during the training, honored us, said Didier Ntimansiemi, Country Director, Kadiwaku Foundation DRC.
The Kadiwaku Foundation is the first organization to have completed such a large-scale initiative in the Kisangani region, where the rights of people with disabilities are not even a priority. Participants favored keeping the programme running and establishing a resource center where people with disabilities and organizations working for disabled individuals’ rights can obtain the necessary training and resources to defend the rights of persons with disabilities.
About the Institute for Community Integration
The Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota, a designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, has engaged in research, training, and outreach to enhance community living and participation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1988. We work to improve policies and practices to ensure that all children, youth, and adults with disabilities, and those receiving educational support, are valued by and contribute to their communities of choice.
