Community Disability Support for 240 Children

This is our very first report for this project, and we already have so much to share! We began with a jump start funded by the Amyas Valora Foundation, and your support is now essential in helping us keep moving forward.

Our project aims to strengthen community-level capacity for disability support and inclusion, beginning in Svay Rieng Province.

The six-month grant from AVF allowed us to launch a comprehensive baseline survey. In October, we hit the ground running—surveying more than 150 people across Svay Rieng through key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Participants included government staff at multiple levels, health and education service providers, and families caring for children with disabilities.

The survey provided valuable information to guide the rest of the project. Key findings included:

• Respondents showed a high level of awareness about unmet needs among children with disabilities.

• A lack of trained personnel was identified as one of the largest barriers to inclusion.

• Seventy percent of government and service-provider respondents reported having no referral system in place for children with disabilities.

• Nearly all respondents indicated that access to respite care in their communities is very important for families caring for children with disabilities.

While the needs in this part of Cambodia are significant, there is also a strong desire for change that would improve the lives of children with disabilities.

These findings did not surprise us. CIF has worked in Svay Rieng for years, and the lack of community resources is what led us to launch ABLE—our community-based rehabilitation services for children in CIF’s family-based care program (GlobalGiving Project #35134). A provincial authority also shared that Svay Rieng has more than 20,000 residents with disabilities and virtually no specialized support services available.

What encouraged us most was the number of respondents who expressed eagerness to strengthen their communities’ ability to meet those needs.

In response, we facilitated our first training for local government staff and health and education providers. Disability Specialists International, one of our partner organizations, conducted the training, which focused on supporting the learning of children with intellectual impairments. Along with providing training, we aim to connect communities with specialized partners so they know where to turn for additional support.

We also partnered with a local church to prepare a community-run respite care program for families of young children, especially those with disabilities. We held meetings with community members to introduce the benefits of respite care and family peer support groups—both of which help reduce caregiver stress and offer practical support for children’s development and wellbeing. We have continued working with local leaders, who are now helping recruit families for both the respite program and peer support groups.

It has been a busy and exciting beginning—and we are just getting started. We look forward to updating you about the launch of the respite program and the progress of the peer support groups in our next report. We will also be hosting our second training for community stakeholders next week.

Thank you for your support!