Saint Louis University International Project: A Three-Tiered Approach to Disability Awareness in Afghanistan

Twenty-five years of civil war and political upheaval in Afghanistan have produced hundreds of thousands of people with physical disabilities and related psychological symptoms. This project was designed to provide a disability awareness program in Afghanistan in a very practical fashion. We combined a unique team from the USA and Afghanistan, including members with intimate knowledge of the culture and context within the country. This team brought together the disciplines of occupational science and occupational therapy, public health, medicine, nursing, and other individuals and community based organizations with extensive knowledge of disability and disability culture. The original project plan consisted of a three-tiered program. First we planned to recruit 100 Afghan professionals to complete a disability awareness training program in Kabul, to establish broad-based capacity and the ability to extend the practice aspects of disability awareness. After three attempts over two years to send the team to Kabul, the first tier of the project had to be deferred due to U.S. State Department security concerns. Second, individuals were screened and selected to pursue training on disability awareness in St. Louis from May 7 to 21, 2006. This group of eight professionals forms the core disability working committee and leadership for a permanent disability blueprint program for Afghanistan. The two-week training program provided a wide variety of topics, balanced with site visits of examples of models that promote inclusion, access, and occupational justice for persons with disabilities in the community. In addition, each Afghan professional was linked with a local mentor who will maintain an ongoing relationship and provide current resources to their mentee. Furthermore, materials were provided to establish a nation-wide resource center to support the work of these professionals regarding disability awareness and occupational justice. When the third tier is implemented in the future, we will provide disability awareness training to 500 Afghan people with physical disabilities and caregivers in Kabul. Their training will serve also as a training environment for the Kabul professionals. This population tier also serves as the ultimate goal for changing the face of disability and occupational justice in Afghanistan