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This paper discusses the participation of children in school based on disability surveys completed in Afghanistan and Cambodia. Using the model of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the results of the surveys are analysed and general findings are highlighted. The paper concludes that the ICF can be used as a framework for disability research and acknowledges that cultural differences may impact results
Working Paper Series No 11

This component of the CBR Guidelines focuses on social component. It describes "the role of the CBR is to work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the full participation of people with disabilities in the social life of their families and communities. CBR programmes can provide support and assistance to people with disabilities to enable them to access social opportunities, and can challenge stigma and discrimination to bring about positive social change." The guideline outlines key concepts, and then presents the core concepts, examples and areas of suggested activities in each of the following five elements: Personal Assistance; Relationships, marriage and family; Culture and arts; Recreation, leisure and sport; Justice. This guideline is useful for anyone interested in social component of CBR

Nursing as a family-oriented profession involves supporting mothers of children with learning disabilities to gain an awareness of their role. However, few studies have explored the whole experience of such mothers. This study embarks on an understanding of lived experiences of Iranian mothers who have children with learning disabilities. A qualitative approach was adopted using the phenomenology of semi-structured interviews carried out with six Iranian mothers whose children attended a special school in Tehran. The data were analysed in line with van Manen’s suggestions. Two main themes were abstracted; being the centre of stress circles and being in the midst of life and death. Themes include care management challenges for self and child, experiencing through helplessness and hopefulness and experiencing self devote and self neglect. Overall, a majority of mothers experienced a stressful life. The study concludes that Iranian mothers’ lived experience of having children with learning disabilities can be likened to the constant swing of a pendulum between two polarities of positive and negative feelings. This knowledge can provide an heuristic to help health staff guide mothers in adjusting to their children who have learning disabilities.

This is a collection of best practice stories from six community-based organisations in Zimbabwe that have implemented innovative strategies and approaches in gender programming through a culture lens. The stories show how the organisations have been successful in promoting gender equality in the face of traditional practices, which relegate women in Africa to subordinate status and roles. They are about their struggles of trying to change the deep-seated traditional and cultural ideologies in a respectful and participatory way and the challenges faced by men and women from the communities who have taken the lead to bring about changes even when confronted with resistance from peers and elders, and important lessons about how to do things better

This second part of the handbook looks specifically at how culture, gender and HIV are connected. Studies undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa make it clear that certain cultural practices, together with the low status and economic power of women increase women and girl's vulnerability to HIV. It is a resource for community-based volunteers working with communities to mainstream HIV and gender through culture

"This training manual explores the theory that culture is central to the forces that trigger gender-based violence, leading to the violation of women's rights and subsequently to the spread of HIV...[It] seeks to make development agents aware that there is not much that can be achieved in the response to HIV and AIDS if society does not deal with the root cause of the problem - culture"

This resource give the experiences of six Ugandan organisations that have had a positive experience of using cultural resources to tackle HIV and AIDS in Uganda, each focusing on different aspects