This project addressed the very specific health and physical well-being needs amongst the unpaid carers we support and their disabled relatives. It comprised of the following activities:
Eye screening and assessment for 175 carers and 35 disabled children and provision of glasses where needed
Hearing assessment for 100 disabled children and provision of hearing aids to those requiring them
Gynaecological assessment and diagnosis for 100 female carers in collaboration with local hospitals
Provision of assistive devices and therapy equipment to support musculo-skeletal problems and mobility issues for 74 carers and 142 disabled children and adults
Provision of assistive adaptations in 10 homes to promote independence of the disabled person and reduce physical stress on the carer
Health promotion via training to 175 carers and community members on nutrition and mental health awareness, leading to greater acceptance and reduced stigma around the mental health issues experienced by carers
Ramadan Support
Location
Bangladesh
Project Dates
2022 - 2025
Project Partners
Centre for Disability in Development
Funder
Cosaraf Charitable Foundation
We rely on your help to continue our work supporting carers in Bangladesh. Please donate today using the buttons below:
Every year since 2022, we have provided emergency food, medical and therapeutic support for unpaid carers and their children in Savar sub-district, Dhaka, Bangladesh, during the holy month of Ramadan.
This support helps families overcome challenges and celebrate Ramadan with dignity.
Over the years this support has included:
Nutritional food packages for families with a disabled child, providing vital sustenance during Ramadan
Iftar celebrations for the disabled children and unpaid carers who attend our seven Community Caring Centres in Bangladesh, ensuring they feel included in the community
Mobility and therapy aids for disabled children, helping increase their physical independence and ease the pressure on their mothers
Specialist eye care and provision of spectacles for parent carers, whose own health needs often go unmet, ensuring they can continue their vital caregiving roles
Achieving Socioeconomic Inclusion
Of Vulnerable Family Carers In Bangladesh
Location
Savar, Bangladesh
Project Dates
June 2019 – December 2020
Project Partners
Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) Bangladesh
Funder
Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission (GOAC)
We rely on your help to continue our work supporting carers in Savar, Bangladesh. Please donate today using the buttons below:
This project provided 300 carers of people with mental illness or disabilities with the means and support to build sustainable livelihoods alongside their caring responsibilities, lifting themselves and their families out of poverty and into long term economic security.
The project leveraged the progress, learning and infrastructure from the “Testing an approach to social and economic inclusion of impoverished family carers” project which we launched with CDD in September 2018 (see below).
Testing An Approach
To Social And Economic Inclusion Of Impoverished Family Carers In Bangladesh
We were delighted to be one of the first recipients of UK Aid Direct's new Small Charities Challenge Fund in 2018.
Using a community empowerment approach, this project addressed the social and economic challenges faced by carers, the majority of whom are women.
Research by CDD estimated that 67% of households in the project area containing a carer and person with disability, were living in extreme poverty on less than $1 per day. These carers were excluded from mainstream poverty alleviation programmes due to caring responsibilities and stigma which meant there was a critical need for this project.
Working with 500 carers, the project facilitated the following:
Carers participating in local support groups
Carers having access to improved medical services and counselling
Carers reporting an improvement in their wellbeing
Carers engaging in new livelihoods and lifting their families out of poverty
Carers having the information and support that they need to access government and private livelihood opportunities
Enabling People With Physical Disabilities In Bangladesh
To Reach Their Potential Through The Provision Of Aids And Appliances
This project aimed to improve the lives of 22 persons with disabilities and their carers.
By providing a range of assistive devices (aids and appliances) this project has enabled greater freedom for disabled people to participate in various aspects of community life while simultaneously alleviating some of the caring burden, in turn freeing time for carers to, for instance, earn a living, and thereby reduce family poverty.
This project also offered basic rehabilitation therapy training to disabled people’s carers, equipping those carers with a skill that removes the need to seek costly therapy through a commercial service.
In this project, our local partner CDD held a mobile outreach disability camp in Savar. A team of rehabilitation and primary health specialists assessed and diagnosed disabilities, referred those who required specialised rehabilitation services and/or corrective surgery, and promoted functional independence as far as is possible.
