Express words: A letter of gratitude from Cambodia , By Tracey Vale

Beyond Disability is a project executed through Baptist World Aid in partnership with Australian churches. It's main aim is to create awareness and understanding of disabilities in countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, where those so afflicted tend to be among the most vulnerable and dis-empowered.

These people are ostracised, misunderstood and left behind in education, community involvement and life fulfillment. They are unable to change their circumstances and are increasingly dependent on their carers, both physically and financially.

The Beyond Disability project aims to change this by offering long-term, sustainable solutions to encourage awareness, acceptance and to integrate these people into their communities and offer them a means to escape their dependence on others and enable them to live a better, self-fulfilling life. This is achieved through educating the community, integrating disabled people into schools in order to achieve the same educational opportunities as their able-bodied peers, as well as offering health solutions and coping strategies for carers where possible.

Lifting the burden from individual households and educating those with disabilities also has a two-fold effect of raising household income and easing life for the carers. The following are among the outcomes of Beyond Disability:

Access to vocational training
Community awareness, acceptance and understanding
Home visits to teach essential life skills such as personal care, washing, cleaning and other household chores
Family counseling
Improvement of fine and gross motor skills through the provision and implementation of games and puzzles
Physiotherapy
Provision of equipment such as wheelchairs and walking sticks
Health service referrals
Entry to mainstream education
Teacher training to ensure their ability to take on a disabled pupil
Provision of special classes
School fees, supplies and transport
Small business funding
Improvement of self esteem and self worth

The following letter was sent to Brandon Chaplin, Senior Pastor at the Blackwood Hills Baptist Church and Village Church, in gratitude for their assistance through the efforts of Beyond Disability:

Dear Brandon,

Greetings from Cambodia. my name is Sopha and I am a widow with six grown children. We live in a village not far from the capital Phnom Penh.

Of my six children, three of the boys were born with cerebral palsy. They are now 16, 20 and 28 years old. As the boys were growing up, they helped me around the house with simple tasks such as collecting firewood and carrying water. Unlike their siblings, they never had a chance to go to school.

Six years ago, we became involved with this project through their special education classes. With their help and the help of a volunteer from Australia, a teacher in our area was trained in providing education for children with intellectual disabilities. They also helped improve access to the local school by building ramps and accessible bathrooms.

My sons have been attending classes at this school three days a week for a number of years now. even though they are older than most school children, the teacher is happy for them to continue attending this class for as long as they want to.

Since attending the special classes, my boys have learnt many important skills for daily living, such as how to dress themselves, helping to prepare food, and basic personal care tasks. importantly, they have also learnt how to hang their own mosquito nets over their beds so they won't be as susceptible to malaria.

My sons really enjoy attending school and it has helped them become more self-sufficient. Since being involved in the program, I have also noticed changes in our community's attitudes toward the boys. they are now accepted and loved by the community, and included in a variety of community activities.

Sopha