RBC. What the heck is that?!

That's a good question. In my post-college life I have found that the real world is full of acronyms; some are obvious, others less so, and some, even after you get all the words in place, still don't make much sense. RBC is one of these types.

Rehabilitacion Basada en la Comunidad, or Community-Based Rehabilitation, that's what RBC stands for. You might ask yourself, so what exactly are we rehabilitating? The answer, people with disability. “Eureka! Of course, why didn't I think of that?” (don't mock me...) Ok, rehabilitation of people with disability, but how does the community do that? Well that is all part of the program...the fundamental idea of RBC is that until we live in a 100% inclusive community, we all need training and rehabilitation to achieve the goal. Its a bottom-up form of development. Seeing as people with disability are often an under-served, if not forgotten, population, the rehabilitation starts directly with them and then, secondly, addresses agency, community, and government.

The first step in the RBC program is to arrive to the individuals and families living with disability and work directly to motivate them to seek out services to help and improve their own lives and conditions and to provide support and solidarity in the process. The second step is to provide simple services that are missing to ease the effects of living with disability. The final step of the community-based rehabilitation process is community outreach; educating people about disability, moving away from a taboo condition and making it a reality that exists, preparing people for interactions, creating a community environment that is hospitable to people with disability, both socially and physically (ie. handicap accessibility!!!!!!), and finally, integrating people with disability into all facets of local community life. Simple right?! Right...

For my dedicated blog followers you might remember that during my site visit the INFA staff thought that I must be a disability specialist because that is what foreigners who come to Ecuador to work do, right? Well it does have some truth. About half of the volunteers that the foundation has seen in the past 2 years have been therapists and specialists in disability; and on a grander scale, the Ecuadorian government is making disability prevention and care a priority. There is a coalition survey taking place by the Cuban and Ecuadorian government to document all of the cases of disability in the country and complete a thorough study of the causes to understand and situation and devise a response. All INFA offices support RBC programs, USAID is trying to launch a disability support program, and there are a number of smaller, private foundations that support the RBC project (probably in the most effective way at present) and compose an ever growing “Red de Discapacidad”(Disability Network).

(Rosie, the coordinator of the RBC Project for the foundation...she might be super woman, and she is my adopted Ecuadorian mom!!!)

Here in Bahia, the strongest response the RBC call to action had been taken on my the Fundacion Corazon Solidario, to which I belong. At present, we are addressing the first two phases of the rehabilitation process. Two wonderful and dedicated women spend their days pounding the pavement (and dusty roads) of Bahia and it's neighboring communities, visiting families who have children with disability. They arrive at the house of the family in solidarity, as a mother, a woman with compassion and experience in raising children. They converse with the mother and child, giving the mother the opportunity to share her experience, successes and frustrations, but also to ask questions and receive information and updates about services and support. Part of the job of these “madres comunitarias” o “promotores” is to check-up on the health and well-being of the child. Is he or she clean, in good health, in a safe environment? Social workers don't exist in the same capacity we in the the states think of them, so these “community moms” are often the only public eyes and ears these kids have to get help if needed. Additionally, to support the efforts of the parents, we have established a Parents Association, complete with President, Secretary and Treasurer, with monthly meetings where, yours truly, (until we secure other speakers and presenters) is guiding parents through reflection activities, goal setting, educating about health, hygiene, and childhood development (because clearly I am an expert in all of these!!!).

(Aula de Educacion Especial, Talita Kum)

The other component of the foundation's response to the disability need is a center for special education. Here in Ecuador, the average teacher is not trained to identify a disability nor to accommodate or aide a special needs student to learn to the best of their ability. Thus, the majority of children with a disability, physical or mental, are not enrolled in any school, nor do their parents prioritize educating their children in “the basics” at home. The basics of the foundation's two special needs schools involve letter and number identification and reproduction, learning colors, days of the week, months, seasons, etc. Think kindergarten material. The students range in age, abilities, and skills, but are really learning together for the first time. It is all so very simple, but really so essential.

***look out for more posts about specific activities the foundation does to support people and children living with disability!!!!***