Prabhathaya – a new hope for families with children with disability

Friday, February 3, 2017

World Vision joined the Department of Social Services in a special book launch event yesterday in Colombo. The book “Prabhathaya” which means ‘dawn’ aims to support parents with children with disability to increase their awareness on disability and provide them with hope. 

The book which is a joint initiative of the Social Services Department and World Vision Lanka is a collection of real life stories of parents with children with disability. While taking the reader through the challenges and victories of these families the book also provides guidance and awareness on the services available for such families to support their children. 

Prabhathaya was written by officers of the Social Services Department themselves with contribution from specialists from the Youth and Elderly Disability Unit of the Ministry of Health and Professor Praneeth Abeysundara  of the University of Sri Jayawardenepura.

“Our (World Vision’s) experience while working in the most rural areas is that, most often parents of children with disability in these areas are not aware of the services available for them to help their children live to their fullest potential,” says Samantha De Mel, Protection & Disability Specialist of World Vision Lanka.

“Children with disability are often marginalised in their community and sometimes even in their own families. While World Vision focuses on obtaining necessary support for them, we also focus on sensitizing their community.” He said. 

While working through the key sectors of education, economic development, health and nutrition, and water and sanitation, disability inclusion is one of the key crosscutting themes, interwoven into all of World Vision’s programmes. Last year World Vision focuses a lot on accessible sanitation facilities for the physically challenged and homeschooling for children and youth with disability while continuing other advocacy initiatives to support the differently-abled.

“As an organization which focuses on improving the wellbeing of vulnerable children, children with disability is priority for us,” Said Dhanan Senathirajah, National Director of World Vision Lanka during his address at the event.

“With Sri Lanka ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disability last year, I believe there will now be more intentional focus in our country on supporting one of the most vulnerable and neglected groups in our society,” he said. “. I guarantee World Vision Lanka’s continued support and commitment to build a better life for children and people with disability in our country.”

During its journey with children and adults with disability for the past years, World Vision has witnessed amazing transformation in their lives, in their families and in the community they live in.

Communities breaking barriers to include the participation of this most vulnerable group in their development journey and volunteering to give extra consideration to them; families who hid their children away from the public making a breakthrough in accepting their child’s condition and being open to necessary support; children growing in understanding of the importance of inclusion and changing their child society meeting venues to places with accessibility to accommodate one child with special needs in their meetings;  children with disabilities themselves become child society presidents, get through to university or even learning to do their day to day activities which were challenging for them before.

Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare, S B Dissanayake chief guest of the event also commended World Visions work in disability inclusion.

Among the distinguished gathering were Pradeep Yasarathne, Director, Department of Social Services and other government officials.