Here are some of the key ideas you need to understand in order to support the formation and success of self-help groups.
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Characteristics of self-help groups
Some common characteristics of self-help groups that are associated with CBR:
Notes
Voluntary nature
They are run by and for group members, have regular meetings, and are open to new members.
Generally being formed in response to a common problem
Example problems:
No access to education for children with disabilities
Limited income-generating opportunities
Clear goals
Goals originate from the needs of group members and are known and shared by all members.
Informal structure and basic rules
Regulations and guidelines inform members how to work effectively together.
Participatory nature
Participation involves getting help and sharing knowledge and experience
Shared responsibility among group members
Each member has a clear role and contributes his or her share of resources to the group.
Democratic decision-making
Each member has a vote on all decisions taken in the group
Governance by members
An external facilitator is used only if necessary in the formation of the group.
Evolution over time to address a broader range of issues
Possibility of joining together to form a federation of groups that can have a greater impact
Membership
Group members are volunteers, in the sense that they are not paid, but they work systematically and regularly to resolve their common problems through mutual support.
Within the context of CBR, self-help groups usually comprise people with disabilities and their families.
These groups are usually small, but over time, they may grow and include more than 20 members. Small groups enable effective participation of all members in discussions and decision-making, whereas larger groups may have more power and influence.
Facilitation and leadership
CBR personnel may be required to take on a facilitator role, particularly when new self-help groups are being formed. CBR personnel can provide guidance to ensure chosen leaders do not dominate the group; they can prevent the hijacking of benefits by some individuals, keep the group motivated, and provide training on different aspects of group functioning
It is not necessary to be a person with a disability to work with people with disabilities, but the shared experience of discrimination may strengthen understanding and empathy between an external facilitator and a group. A facilitator with a disability may also be a role model for other people with disabilities in the group.
See how a self-help group managed to change community attitudes in China’s autonomous region of Tibet
CBR in Action
The CBR project in the Tibet Autonomous Region, People’s Republic China, works with parents of children with disabilities to discover new ways of responding to their children’s needs. These parents identified that prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviour directed towards their children was a priority issue because it prevented their children from attending school, and it was uncomfortable taking their children into the community. CBR personnel saw the potential benefit that a self-help group would have for this group of parents. A couple of parents decided to create a self-help group and started by focusing on raising public awareness about disability. They held these awareness sessions in local tea houses.
As the parents came to rely upon one another, and drew increasing comfort from sharing their similar experiences, the group grew from two to 12 members. The community was positive and slowly their attitudes began to change, with many community members offering support (e.g. through donating wheelchairs) during these awareness sessions. This was a great source of encouragement.
The self-help group has slowly branched into other activities with the support of CBR. It has:
Notes
Opened a teahouse, dedicating the profits to poorer families who have members with disabilities
The CBR provided the initial grant and business training.
Started visiting families at home to provide assistance when they are finding it difficult to follow their child’s rehabilitation plan
The CBR programme provided training on simple rehabilitation activities, and CBR personnel accompanied group members on home visits, to slowly build their capacity and confidence levels.
The success of this self-help group has inspired others to form similar groups.
Single-impairment and cross-impairment groups
Many groups have been formed for and by individuals with similar impairments.
While single-impairment groups have a clear and well-defined purpose, often cross-impairment groups may be more frequent in smaller communities.
The basic needs of people with disabilities are the sameas everyone else: food, shelter, health care, education, and this is independent of their impairments.
Learn about the successes a cross-impairment self-help group was able to achieve on the island of Java in Indonesia
CBR in Action
The CBR Development and Training Center (CBR-DTC) in Solo, Central Java, was asked by Netherlands Leprosy Relief to develop self-help groups that include – but are not limited to – people affected by leprosy. Eventually about 100 people with disabilities were identified and agreed to become members of Difabel Slawi Mandiri (DSM). About 25% of these members are affected by leprosy.
Capacity building was provided on equal rights, advocacy, leadership, socio-economic development/microcredits, and more. Saving and loan systems were started. In addition, DSM members started to contact local stakeholders from government, university and other service providers.
Eventually a ‘Disability Forum’ was established. Important district stakeholders were included in the forum, which is supported by the regent of the district. Within the next two years, the group managed to obtain access to a long list of services and programmes that previously were not accessible for persons with disabilities simply because nobody in the government had thought of them.
Self-help groups and disabled people’s organizations
Self-help groups and disabled people’s organizations can look different in different countries, and sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish the two. For example, in many countries self-help groups are also known as disabled people’s organizations, especially where they have joined together and become umbrella organizations.
In the CBR guidelines:
Self-help groups are defined as groups that:
Are established locally
Operate on an informal basis, and
Are focused on addressing the needs of their own members (who may include people both with and without disabilities, such as family members)
Disabled people’s organizations are defined as organizations that:
Are often more formally structured, and
Have run by people with disabilities
Usually work on a larger canvas, advocating for human rights and influencing policy and resource allocation
Welcome to INCLUDE! This short tour will introduce you to the many resources available to you in our
learning community.
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This is the Module library page. It is the first thing you will see after you register and log into INCLUDE.
From here, you can choose to view nine different learning modules, each of which examines a different aspect of Community-Based Rehabilitation.
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Each time you make a selection from the Module library, you will enter a learning module (in this case the Health module) that you can interact with in a number of ways.
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You will have a number of opportunities to reflect on your thoughts, feelings and experiences related to CBR, as well as on what you have learned so far. If you want, you can choose to share your reflections with other members of the INCLUDE community.
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Note that when you are inside a learning module, you use the Continue and Back buttons at the bottom of the screen to move ahead to the next page, or go back to the previous page.
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You can also choose to jump directly to a different part of the current module by making a selection from the menu on the left side of the screen.
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In each learning module, you will also have the opportunity to respond to poll questions and learn what others in the INCLUDE community are thinking about CBR.
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You can also review numerous real-life examples of how others are successfully implementing CBR around the world.
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And you can create an action plan to help you:
•Better understand the needs of your programme, and
•Take specific, concrete steps to address them
As with reflections, if you want, you can also choose to share your action plan with other members of the community.
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Additional resources are available any time you want to access them, frrom the menu at the top of every screen.
From the Reflect option on this menu, you can:
•Review all of the reflections you have entered so far, or
•View the reflections other members of the INCLUDE community have entered and chosen to share
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Under Action Plan, you can:
•Work on your own action plan, or
•View action plans that other members of the community have created and chosen to share
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You can also view the full library of real-life examples of CBR in action from this menu.
If you want to locate the examples that are most relevant to your work, you can filter these examples by subject and region, as well as by the gender and age(s) of the population being served.
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In the Community section you can:
•Participate in conversations (discussions) with other members of the INCLUDE community
•View the results of every poll question included in the course
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Finally, you can view a set of additional resources related to CBR in the Resource library.
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Finally, you can view a set of additional resources related to CBR in the Resource library.
