The Growth of Government Intervention in the Economy

The Growth of Government Intervention in the Economy The founding fathers of the United States wanted to create a nation where the federal government was limited in its authority to dictate ones inalienable rights, and many argued this extended to the right to the pursuit of happiness in the context of starting ones own business. Initially, the government did not meddle in the affairs of businesses, but the consolidation of the industry after the Industrial Revolution resulted in a monopoly of markets by increasingly powerful corporations, so the government stepped in to protect  small businesses  and consumers from corporate greed. Since then, and especially in the wake of the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal with businesses, the federal government has enacted more than 100 regulations to control the economy and prevent monopolization of certain markets. Early Involvement of Government Near the end of  the 20th century, the rapid consolidation of power in the economy to a few select corporations spurred the United States government to step in and begin regulating the free trade market, starting with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which restored competition and free enterprise by breaking up corporate control of niche markets. Congress again passed laws in 1906 to regulate the production of food and drugs, ensuring that the products were correctly labeled and all meat tested before being sold. In 1913, the  Federal Reserve  was created to regulate the nations supply of money and establish a central bank that monitored and controlled certain banking activities. However, according to the United States Department of State, the largest changes in the governments role occurred during the New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelts response to the Great Depression. In this Roosevelt and Congress passed multiple new laws that allowed the government to intervene in the economy to prevent another such catastrophe. These regulations set rules for wages and hours, gave benefits to unemployed and retired workers, established subsidies for rural farmers and local manufacturers, insured bank deposits, and created a massive development authority. Current Government Involvement in the Economy Throughout the 20th century, Congress continued to enact these regulations meant to protect the working class from corporate interests. These policies eventually evolved to include protections against discrimination based on age, race, sex, sexuality or religious beliefs and against false advertisements meant to purposefully mislead consumers. Over 100 federal regulatory agencies have been created in the United States by the early 1990s, covering fields from trade to employment opportunity. In theory, these agencies are meant to be shielded from partisan politics and the president, meant purely to protect the federal economy from collapse through its control of individual markets. According to the U.S. Department of State, by law members of the boards of these agencies must include commissioners from both political parties who serve for fixed terms, usually of five to seven years; each agency has a staff, often more than 1,000 persons; Congress appropriates funds to the agencies and oversees their operations.

Retire With Pay

Retire With Pay Fill your retirement years with golden opportunities. Freelance writing opportunities, that is. Apply what you learned from your past career field (or fields) advertising, graphic design, technology, education, health, etc.- to your advantage. As a retiree you are in a great position to not only write on the technical aspects of your previous job, but on your workplace experiences those insights you gained into personalities and office politics, for instance, as well as those skills or capabilities you picked up, multitasking, leadership, organization, photography, social-networking savvy, etc.  Ã‚   If you had your own business, share your secrets for success. How did you get started? Was the business a family affair? What marketing strategies did you use? If you were in a specialized trade, carpentry, electrician, master plumber, etc., write about some of the tools of the trade. Did you have any special licenses or certifications? Were you a licensed, certified animal control worker, for example? If you were, you most likely have enough on-the-job training to write about animal behavior and training. Take advantage of fellow retirees’ former careers. If you have a solid relationship with the former chief executive officer of an environmental waste company, ask him how his company went about obtaining government contracts or restoring contaminated sites.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way to uncover good workplace technical, experience, and skill, topics is to ask yourself what it is that you would like to have known when you started your career or what you would have done better had you been in a position of authority.   Writing about your past career is not the only way to cash in, however. Consider copywriting/editing for said former workplace; who better than a former employee already familiar with the business, to edit those company newsletters, annual reports, marketing brochures and other company publications? Call your former boss and ask if he needs someone to pick up some of those jobs. I have a friend who, after retiring from his job as Site Safety Officer for an environmental company, continued to write manuals for them for on-site safety procedures. Likewise, if you were in business for yourself you can offer your services as a copywriter for other small business owners. Small businesses typically don’t have time to write a daily or weekly blog, and if a small business has a newsletter, it may also need someone knowledgeable to put together a professional piece.    A word of caution: If you are writing about the technical aspects of a previous career, you must be careful to stay within ethical boundaries of what is or isn’t permissible for you to write about. Also, if you’ve been away from your former career for a while, you may need to sharpen up your technical knowledge. It is doubtful that you would want to write an article on Five Easy Steps to Mastering Shorthand. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But you get the point.    The same basic rules apply to writing about your past career as with any other kind of freelance writing. Mainly, you must be able to provide short feature articles covering specialized topics in your area or areas of expertise and be able to communicate that expertise to a specific audience. You also need to possess adequate marketing skills to discern a particular magazine’s exact needs. You don’t have to have a degree for the field you were in. Your on-the-job experiences are what are important.   The market for your articles in this category are wide open. You can submit to any number of consumer magazines (business, finance, health and fitness, inflight, retirement, etc.) and trade magazines (marketing and PR, electronics, energy, government, etc.) So sharpen up that pencil and get busy. Your retirement years can be your best years ever. Entrepreneur Magazine entrepreneur.com Pays $1 a word Horizon Edition Magazine alaskaairlinesmagazine.com/horizonedition/guidelines/contributor Pay starts at $450 for features; $100 for short pieces. E The Environmental Magazine emagazine.com/writers-guidelines Pays 30 cents a word.

CAREER RESEARCH PAPER 10TH GRADE LEVEL TOPIC CHOOSEN IS ZOOLOGIST

CAREER 10TH GRADE LEVEL TOPIC CHOOSEN IS ZOOLOGIST - Research Paper Example The study originated in the work of a number of writers and theorists. Like a number of contemporary subjects of knowledge such as ethics, Aristotle is regarded as one of the first thinkers to distinguish the study of animals as a distinct subject of investigation. Other early thinkers include Al-Jahizz in Asian, whose Book of Animals is regarded as a precursor to Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution. However, it wasn’t until 16th century Europe that zoology became an official scientific field of investigation. The science progressed at a gradual rate until the 19th century when the investigation of the microscope and Darwin released the Origin of the Species, which detailed his theory of natural selection, that the study of zoology was truly revolutionized. (Hickman 2007) Today zoology as a variety of subfields and types of scientific investigation. One of the main roles of the science of zoology is that of developing systems of classification for animals. This is referred to as morphography. Other subfields include the fields of comparative anatomy, which studies the anatomy of animals in relation to other animals; descriptive zoography, which investigates animals and their behavior; molecular biology is greatly concerned with the internal biological and evolutionary functions of animals and is close in contact to the study of evolutionary biology; and paleontology is the study of prehistoric life. While these subfields of zoology cover a broad spectrum of the scientific field, they are no means comprehensive, as the study of zoology is a diverse and complex as the very animals that the function to investigate. (Hickman 2007) One of the most famous zoologists in recent times and one of the individuals I am most interested in is Steve Irwin the ‘Crocodile Hunter’. While Irwin gained famed for his television show where he daringly confronted dangerous animals, he was also a

Social Media Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Media Marketing - Essay Example Its presence on Facebook has meant that the Facebook users can put a â€Å"like† on the fan page and comment on different products offered by Fantasia Hookah Tobacco. What is more important, the community members can interact with each other via social networking (Veer, 2011). It is important to understand the psychographics and demographics of the people who like this page and want to be a part of what Fantasia Hookah Tobacco has to offer to them through the Internet. The professional enhancement of Fantasia Hookah Tobacco would be measured by the people who join it on Facebook and the way it is able to offer them a range of possibilities through Facebook. In my opinion, it is crucial to touch upon quite a few pointers as they remain domineering as far as the delivery of social media marketing realms is concerned. One of my goals is to realize the way Fantasia Hookah Tobacco is able to transgress boundaries and reach out to people who are taken as the most appropriate ones when it comes to the Facebook platform. However, this requires extra surveillance and caution on the part of my research as it is important to be sure that wastage does not come about and that there are immense areas where growth and development of Fantasia Hookah Tobacco occur (James, 2011). College students must get attracted by the Facebook platform and if they do not like this page and seem disinterested in visiting the webpage, it will mean wastage. Fantasia Hookah Tobacco looks up to the marketing that is being done on the Facebook platform as, in my opinion, it can entice the young ones into something that is cool and trendy, as well as warrant their attention in due course of time. I would receive instant feedback from them as far as the tobacco products are concerned and employ this feedback to good effect, which should eventually boost the business in the long run (Wunker, 2012). This will make things running in proper order for Fantasia

The aims, methods and achievements of MLK and Malcolm X Essay Example for Free

The aims, methods and achievements of MLK and Malcolm X Essay Compare the aims, methods and achievements of MLK and Malcolm X. Which man do you think was most successful at achieving civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s? I would suggest that Martin Luther king was the more successful man in terms of achieving civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s. While this may seem a choice influenced by public image, I would suggest that there were issues with Malcolm Xs image and methodology that made it unlikely that he would ever be accepted (and thus, respected) by White America. I think that Martin Luther King, while viewed by some blacks with contempt for his relatively moderate attitude, genuinely evaluated the situation in which he was operating and suited his modus operandi to make it as beneficial as possible. As a result of this, I think that Martin Luther King made it easier for himself to achieve his aims of bringing about equality for African-Americans in the 1960s in America. I will, however, examine in greater detail the differences in the methodology of the men later on. Put simply, Martin Luther King aimed to ensure that black people were equal in America in the 1960s. Inequality was made manifest through segregation, whether in the guise of schooling, buses, or whites only benches. This stemmed mostly from Kings childhood and experiences as a young adult, one of which led to him being threatened with a gun for demanding service in a segregated restaurant. Kings aims were not all this simple, however. First, he had to factor in the point that he would need to reach the greatest number of people possible with his message, and make them receptive to it. I would suggest that this was a battle between the fight for civil rights and the dangers of playing Uncle Tom to Washington politicians. While King did liaise with President Kennedy, I would suggest that this was an accomplishment of Kings rather than one of his aims. This is because Kings main objective, I feel, was to influence Washington into passing civil rights laws, and talking with the Kennedy brothers was only a means to this end. Second, King aimed to influence politicians through grassroots movements rather than the dealings of smoke-filled rooms. I think that this can be observed in King choosing to demonstrate the plight of African-Americans through initiatives such as the 1961 freedom rides and the 1963 March on Washington. I would suggest that these activities exhibit essential differences in the aims of King and Malcolm X- that is to say that whilst Xs objectives were dependent on black on white hostility, Kings were rooted in egalitarianism. I would suggest that this made King more accessible, and thus helped his plight through the participation of many moderate blacks and white student activists. Kings methods were ones designed to capture the attention of Kennedy, and later Johnson, but whilst exercising caution and maximising participation. However, I think that King was not so much a true crusader as a brand for the Civil Rights Movement. As the US today is personified by its President, I think that the CRM needed an effective, moderate face that was not too black for White America. I would suggest that this is one of the few instances in which one could justify a comparison between Martin Luther King and current US President Barack Obama. For example, in the instance of the 1963 North Carolina sit-ins organised by the SNCC, King was effectively chosen as the face of the movement, a movement that was in fact initiated by educated students desperate for change. As this movement led to the desegregation of Atlantas schools, one could argue that King was in fact not the true leader of the Civil Rights Movement, but more like Orwells poster of Big Brother: omnipresent; benevol ent- a brand. One method used by King was the use of non-violent protest. Utilised in its earliest form in the Montgomery bus boycotts, I think that non-violent protest was the most effective manner with which black and civil rights activists could champion their cause. This is because non-violent protest did not provide white America with the ammunition to vilify Civil Rights activists (though many tried). This is because non-violent protest raised awareness while making it hard for police to use violence to disperse protesters. Also, I believe that such mass action made it difficult for politicians to ignore the plight of African-American people in the 1960s. While the NAACP may have taken on the Supreme Court through litigation, I think that if they had failed there would be no attention paid to the case. It would have been, I feel, business as usual. But the mass action used in initiatives such as the March on Washington in 1963 made black issues impossible to ignore, and helped black people experience solidarity and ubiquity in their anonymity and numbers. King himself proclaimed: The Negro is shedding his fear, and while this is something King was worried about, I think that this is something that was in fact brought about by King. Black people in America could now see that it was acceptable to feel insulted; angry and bitter about the injustices of slavery. Because of this, I would suggest that Martin Luther King succeeded in his aims as I would suggest it was his methodology of mass action that inspired black people to rise up, and the White House (and people) to sit up and listen. However, there was to be another character with what some today would consider a more direct influence on the position of black people in 1960s America. Malcolm X approached the Civil rights struggle in America in the 1960s in a very different manner to King indeed, and I would suggest that in spite of his iconographic status, he largely failed in his aims. X aimed to rail against the whole idea of demanding Civil Rights, suggesting that black and white men could never be truly equal. X regarded black people as Africans who just happened to be in America, and as such X took up a position described by Cornell as The basic aim to counter white supremacy, better known as Black Power. X advocated violence, and I would suggest that this was to result in a short term failure for X. This is because Xs white rivals, segregationalists and racists, would now find a legitimate excuse to be opposed to black people- violence reminiscent of a modern day terrorist group. I would draw parallels with terrorism because terrorist groups are not evil- they merely seek to advance an aim through violence, and are despised by the majority for it. Malcolm Xs methodology, I feel, caused short-term failure, yet it would be unwise to dismiss his efforts out of hand. In the late 1960s disaffected black youths flocked to Malcolm X because they felt King was playing Uncle Tom (especially following Kings poorly judged discussions with Chicagos Mayor Daley in 1966 that resulted in King appearing naive and ineffectual), and I think that this was the central tenet of Xs early philosophy- that of the angry young man. I think that Xs involvement with the Nation of Islam also helped Xs relations with disenchanted blacks, his rebellious and extremist views being ones that the frustrated and the angry could latch on to. However, I would suggest that the Nation of Islam was poor with regards to black/white relations and thus Malcolm X actually achieved little towards the real accomplishment of black Civil Rights (though I do indeed believe that X inspired a host of activists who may not have otherwise campaigned for them). In addition, I think Xs anti-integrationalist stance would do little to affect any sort of white-dominated legislation for the better. Indeed, X-inspired groups such as the Black Panthers were labelled as dangerous by the US government, particularly due to their McCarthyist-frightening beliefs, but also due to their advocacy of violence and separatism. One could draw parallels to Rastafarianisms call of back to Africa that I think equally alienated White contemporaries, who were- like it or not- the Kennedys; the Mayor Daleys, the Bull Connors- the people in power. I think this central lack of appeal to the white man was what made Malcolm X, in my eyes, largely a failure. I also th ink it regrettable that this appeal needed to have occurred, but it was truly required in this case. The methods used by Malcolm X, I feel, were in reality not so far removed from Kings as hypothesised by some. I would suggest that both King and X had relatively non-violent campaigns. While X advocated black supremacy, he in reality did similar things to King: suggested blacks join voter rolls; participated in sit-ins. Whilst the Black Panthers were inspired by X, I think he was always more of an orator than an activist, and that his easily attacked espousals of violence and his belief in the Doctrine of Yakub (which suggested that an ancient black scientist named Yakub created white men, and slavery was Allahs punishment for this) made him likely to fail in affecting mainstream white society. I would contend that a policy of non-violence was to prove crucial in the 1960s, and that a period of education of white America such as that seen in the cultural expansion of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance was important in the meeting of the target of Civil Rights. To conclude, I would suggest that while both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had flaws which, ultimately, crippled the growth of the Civil Rights Movement, they both contributed in significantly different ways to the fight for black Civil Rights. While I would contend that the theological and occasionally violence beliefs of Malcolm X made him seem unacceptable to white America, I think that his effective martyrdom resulted in disaffected black youths returning to political activism after they felt shunned by what they perceived to be Uncle Tom behaviours on the part of King. One could, I feel, successfully argue that Xs increased appeal also came from his everyman upbringing in Harlem, and that black youths could not truly identify with a Southern minister. In addition,one could argue that Kings campaign depended on violence as much as Xs. If Kings activists and followers were not viciously suppressed, I doubt that moderate America would have eventually got round to championing their cause, evidenced by the fact that approximately a quarter of participants in the March on Washington 1963 were white. However, I would suggest that Kings populism was to raise a number of black activists and student dissenters that would result in white America being cowed by the influence of millions of African-Americans, and, finally, result in the Civil Rights that black America had been fighting for.

Cultural Impact of Technology Transfer :: Exemplification Essays

Cultural Impact of Technology Transfer Human history has demonstrated that the flow of information is inevitable; cultures across the world have been trading ideas for thousands of years. Dick Teresi claims, however, that "a technology evolves within a culture and its particular demands and preoccupations, intertwined with that society’s particular environment.† (Teresi, 356) While this statement holds true for many innovations, not all technologies are direct products of the cultures using them. As human communications increased, technologies were frequently invented in one culture and transferred to another. The cultures that acquired technologies from outside sources oftentimes utilized them in ways originally not intended. Did these external technologies have positive or negative effects on the cultures that accepted them? The consequences of implanted technologies vary from case to case depending on a number of factors, including environmental and lifestyle differences between the two communities. To hig hlight the networking of these factors and weigh the effects of transferring technologies, I will compare two scenarios: the European’s introduction of guns into Inuit culture and the bringing of horses to the Native Americans by the Spaniards. The story of European small arms begins with the cannon. The cannon, first used in the 1346 Battle of Cressey, was gradually reduced in size over the next three centuries until a cannon small enough to attach to the end of a stick emerged (Ferris, 3). This innovation gave birth to the gun, an invention that revolutionalized European warfare. Because the gun was invented for primarily military purposes, Europeans used it more in battlefields than on hunting grounds, where bows and arrows still dominated (Ferris, 3). When the Europeans introduced small arms into Inuit culture, however, they became instruments of seal hunting. The Inuit’s original seal hunting methods involved harpooning the animals through a hole in the ice. Seal carcass retrieval was difficult, so the Inuit designed their harpoons specifically for efficient recovery of seal bodies. Their engineering was so successful that only one seal body sunk out of every twenty (Ehrlich, 216). Unlike the harpoon, however, the gun was not specially designed for seal hunting. Thus, when the Inuit acquired rifles from the Hudson’s Bay Company and started shooting seals, the bodies would sink before they could be harpooned and retrieved. Hunting efficiency plummeted dramatically; nineteen out of every twenty seals hunted with guns sank (Ehrlich 216). Before long, Inuit hunting began depleting seal populations. The introduction of small arms dealt a blow to both the Inuit community, whose hunting efficiency decreased, and their environment, which suffered a loss of mass numbers of animals.

Community Based Rehabilitation

A Documentation of such a comprehensive finish cannot be completed without the help of numerous sources and people throughout the long rugged path of success. I too realized this fact and so, I take this opportunity to thank them all. Personally this documentation has helped me to gain knowledge and skills to understand people with disabilities and their struggle for survival.Therefore it indeed gave me a great opportunity to study the Community Based Rehabilitation programme (CBR) of Women's Develop Centre (WDC) understand the services they provide to the people with disabilities. This documentation would not have been possible if not for the generosity of number of person who spent their time with me. In particular, I wish to acknowledge Ms. Pearl Stephen, Founder Director, Women's Development Centre (WDC) who prompted me to undertake this study and for giving me the guidance and support. I also wish to acknowledge the support and informative guidance of Ms.Dammika Podiemanike, Coo rdinator, WDC CBR programme. I extend my thank you to all the staffs of CBR programme for helping me throughout this study by providing and facilitating to obtain necessary information Finally, I must mention here that all those who supported me in helping me to document have done so with an expectation of a successful documentation. Such an expectation has been my source of inspiration and encouragement. I express my sincere thanks to all of them albeit that I may not be able to present their names.Having completed the documentation, it is my hope that it will serve as a source of information for those who are interested on the subject of community based rehabilitation especially who are interested on research on such a subject, for donors to get an understanding as to how their resources are serving the humanity and most of all as a reflective material for WDC management and staff for appreciating their own work as well as for further enhancement of their programme. It is my wish that this documentation will bring more light to further enhance safeguarding the rights of the disabled persons.Ranjan S. K. Nellimale Documenter August 2007 CONTENTS 01. INTRODUCTION01 02. BACKGROUND DETAILS01 †¢ The aim of WDC is to †¢ WDC Vision †¢ Mission †¢ WDC Target Group †¢ Major areas of work †¢ District Level Women’s Fora attached to WDC Women’s Network 03. OBJECTIVES OF THE DOCUMENTATION11 04. METHODOLOGY OF DOCUMENTATION11 05. THE METHODOLOGY USED FOR DOCUMENTATING11 06. COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION11 †¢ What is CBR? 07. WOMENS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION13 †¢ Vision of CBR Unit of WDC †¢ Objectives †¢ Activities A. Kandy Community Based Rehabilitation Centre15 Day care centre †¢ Counselling †¢ Speech and Language Therapy a. Speech class b. Speech Therapy c. Language Therapy †¢ Physiotherapy unit †¢ Special Education class †¢ Behaviour Modification B. Voc ational Training Centre (VTC) Ampitiya23 C. Manikhinna Community Based Rehabilitation centre26 D. Matale Community Based Rehabilitation Centre28 E. Teldeniya Community Based Rehabilitation Centre29 F. Haragama Community Based Rehabilitation Centre31 G. Madolkale Community Based Rehabilitation Centre33 H. Ulapane Community Based Rehabilitation Centre34 I.Pothgoda Community Based Rehabilitation Centre36 J. Galpihilla Community Based Rehabilitation Centre38 K. Community Blind Rehabilitation program39 08. REMARKS 42 †¢ Intervention †¢ Rehabilitation †¢ Prevention 09. CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT44 10. KEY LEARNING FROM THE DOCUMENTATION PROCESS 45 1. Impact on the disabled persons 2. Impact on Family living 3. Access to services and facilities 4. Impact on social relations 5. Capacity Building of Vocational Training 6. Access to loans for those with vocational Training 7. Community Awareness 8. Self Help Group formation 9.Parental Capacity Building 10. Advocacy 11. RE COMMENDATIONS49 12. ANNEXURES54 COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION PROGRAMME OF WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT CENTRE 01. INTRODUCTION The concept of Community Based Rehabilitation programme is that disabled people should have the right to a good life and fulfil their needs. The help they need should be available to them at a low cost. It should offer to them and their family a way that suits their usual way of living, whether in a village, a town or a city. They should have education like everybody else and there should not be any disparity.They should be able to take up the normal activities like jobs and earning their own living without discrimination and exploitation. They should be able to take full part in all the activities of their village, or town or city or within their families. The idea of CBR is that, even if people learn very slowly, or have problems seeing or hearing or, find it hard to move about, they should still be respected as being men and women, girls and boys. Nobody should look down on them, nor be treated any less than a normal person just because they have a disability. 2. BACKGROUND Women's Development Centre (WDC) is an organization established in 1987 and registered as an NGO in 1989. The aim of WDC is to: Help Women enhance their participation in Socio-Economic life and help them take up leadership roles in various capacities. WDC Vision: To create a society where women and children are actively involved, having equal opportunity to, access to, and control over resources and working in the area of advocacy and policy to their own betterment and of their families.Mission: Facilitate and create an environment to strengthen the position of women and children in society by addressing women’s and children’s issues and community awareness, thereby reducing victimization improving opportunities for engaging in income generation activities and awareness to improve their lives with increased knowledge and through group support and ac tivities. WDC Target Group: WDC’s work involves women from disadvantaged communities but also expands to include youth and children from all ethnic and religious groups’ predominantly in rural areas.Major areas of work: †¢ Crisis Intervention †¢ Community based Rehabilitation †¢ Network with seven district fora and other organizations with similar aim and objectives. †¢ Community development (health, community organizing, community awareness and working with schools) †¢ Pre-schools and day care centres †¢ Resource centre †¢ Legal aid/counselling programme †¢ Disaster intervention District Level Women’s Fora attached to WDC Women’s Network 03. OBJECTIVES OF THE DOCUMENTATION To explain the concept of the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program as implemented by WDC. †¢ How far has the CBR program brought positive impact to communities where it is implemented. †¢ To identify where changes are required f or a more effective CBR programme. 04. METHODOLOGY OF DOCUMENTATION The Community Based Rehabilitation program (CBR) has been documented by using Descriptive method. The documenter used mostly interviews and observations to gather information. 05. THE METHODOLOGY USED FOR DOCUMENTING The initial discussion with Mrs.Pearl Stephen as the author and initiator of the program as well as other key individuals helped in developing the interviews and observation guide. The information gathered were summarized and analyzed to provide major leanings and conclusions. 06. COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION Community Based Rehabilitation approach is said to be suitable for developing countries with limited resources to provide wider coverage of services. The importance of CBR approach is the transfer of minimum rehabilitation skills and responsibility to minimally trained family members and other volunteers in the community.The last decade saw the growth of community based rehabilitation in many dev eloping countries, along with changes and adjustments in the concepts and practices related to this field especially in countries like Sri Lanka. What is CBR? Mrs. Pearl Stephen, Founder Director of WDC who initiated CBR, perceives that any intervention to disabled people is liberation for those who are the care takers of the most marginalised persons. In fact, it is the rationale for a women’s organisation such as WDC to be involved in the issues of the disabled.According to her, it is a programme that safeguard the rights of the disabled persons changing their surroundings, including enabling the family and the community in this task. It is a sustainable process that utilises as much local resources and techniques as possible to intervene, rehabilitate and minimise occurrence of disabilities. â€Å"A strategy within community development for the rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities and social integration of all people with disabilities† (UN definition) †Å"CBR is a strategy for enhancing the quality of life of disabled people by improving service delivery, by providing more equitable pportunities and by promoting and protecting their human rights† (E. Helander ). 07. WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION The Women’s Development Centre (WDC) is a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Kandy. The aim of the organization is to promote women’s status in society by building capacity, developing partnerships and supporting awareness on health, legal rights, gender leadership development crisis intervention and skills training, networking and action- research on women’s issues.The WDC began by running a community health training program in collaboration with local medical officers of health. As the health volunteers gained the trust of many families and communities in which they were working, they learned of many disabled children who had received little, if, any, help. Many were hidden away in shame and fear, some even physically imprisoned in there homes. The parents were in desperate need of help and support in coping with the stresses and difficulties of caring for these children.Following requests from the parents, it was agreed that a rehabilitation programme be started in November 1990, with the children already attending the WDC centre in Kandy on two mornings in a week. Some of original health volunteers become the ‘rehabilitation workers’ and their training was extended by attendance at paediatric, psychiatric and ENT clinics as well as short courses at a special school for hearing – impaired children. The programme was well attended and rapidly developed, with new centres opening in local villages in response to community requests.There are 10 community based rehabilitation (CBR) centres run by WDC in number of places such as, Ulapane, Manikhinna, Pothgoda, Madolkalele, theldeniya, Galphila, Matale, Ampitiya, Haragama and in Kandy. The village centres are in temples halls and other community premises. They function with the co-operation / support of the local community. These different centres work with hospitals, schools, department of education, the divisional secretariats and the various service departments within these secretariats. The programme taps a lot of local resources from parents, divisional secretariats, department of social services etc.Most of these departments have a lot of respect for the quality of service rendered by WDC unit and the rapport they are able to develop with the departments and the clients alike. Vision of CBR Unit of WDC: Create an environment where the person with special needs while enjoy equal rights and maximum benefits within the family and society. Objective: †¢ Minimize conditions that lead to disabilities †¢ Rehabilitate persons with disabilities while being in community †¢ Advocate on issues related to disabilities of persons Activities: †¢ Maintain community based rehabilitation centres Maintain special education units †¢ Maintain vocational training centres for person with special needs †¢ Implement community education programs †¢ Develop and support networks with and for people with disabilities †¢ Mainstream of work and issues of person with disabilities A. Kandy Community Based Rehabilitation Centre The Kandy CBR group currently functions as a separate unit close to the WDC main office. A total of 48 staff are spread over ten CBR centres. There are 10 Staff members rendering their support to the Kandy centre.In general, all of the centres whether in the urban areas like Kandy or other centres in rural areas, there are a basic set of services and activities rendered. Therefore, this document would not try to elaborate all these activities in all the centres but try to indicate some of the unique features of the different programmes. The centre in Kandy, in the sense, can be seen as the h ub and coordinating place. It is the training and orientation centre as well as assessment centre of many disabilities where a large number of clients from different parts of the island access their initials services and referrals.The babies and children attending the CBR programmes have wide range of disabilities like hearing and visual impaired, language disorders, learning difficulties, and behaviour problems, physical and mental disorders. There is lack of space for special education schools and units so the children will move from the centres to get special education. However, some of the children are having multiple difficulties which make such placement more difficult. There is a system to assist the very young and other children with difficulties.Those who come to seek the services of the WDC Kandy centre come from various parts of the island through different sources, such as through referrals from hospitals, doctors, hospital clinics, special education department, organiza tions and some times any one who has heard of this CBR program from a friend or relatives also bring their children or direct. Some of the services rendered by CBR Kandy centre is counselling, speech and language therapy, day care centre, visual program, physio-therapy and special education class. Day Care Centre: The Day Care Centre of the WDC CBR unit entertains children requiring Day care facilities for both WDC staff and others. The uniqueness of this centre is the ability to integrate both normal and children with special needs. Presently there are 18 children (both girls and boys) in the pre school age in this day care centre. Two of the children are from crisis intervention centre of WDC at Haragama which serves women and young girls who have faced violence. Shabana is a 6 years old child having a physical disability in her hand, arly she got physiotherapy treatment from the centre and now she receives normal pre school education. †¢ Counselling: Counselling is an a inte ractive process conjoining the counselee who need assistance and the counsellor who is trained and educated to give this assistance, the counsellor can initiate and maintain the interactive process if he/she communicates feelings of spontaneity and warmth tolerance, respect and sincerity. One of the main work done by CBR Kandy unit is providing counselling to the parents and the children with disabilities.When the parents approach the organization for help, the first thing that the CBR counsellors do is a detailed assessment regarding the problems of child and the related causes by using formats developed by them. In this process the CBR counsellors try to help the parents to clarify the problem and the way how to build the helping process. In the end of this process the counsellors will direct the parents towards next step and to the type of service required. †¢ Speech and Language Therapy: The main objective of this unit is to help children in improving Speech and Language sk ills. a.Speech class: Speech class are conducted for children who are having speech difficulties such as stammering, autistic, Down syndrome etc. it is an individual effort with each child. These children are referred by schools and hospitals. The children go through initial assessment while being in the speech class. Those who require intense rehabilitation are identified and provided with further intervention. After the initial assessments and corrective measurers, these children are referred to special education units and followed up on a monthly assessment basis. Some children are also followed up at homes during home visits . Speech Therapy: Those who are supported through speech therapy are those with more intense speaking disabilities such as those who have difficulties with voice and exeursing the tongue. Sometimes such intervention require around one year of treatment process. c. Language Therapy: Language therapy is often for the children who have extreme difficulties in s peaking such as deaf children. Such children are assessed and intervened to improve sounds, sign language etc. The deaf children in particular are referred to the deaf school in Dodanwala to enable them to continue their school career.Even while the children enter the deaf school, they are still followed up until they reach a level of improvement. †¢ Physiotherapy unit: The Physiotherapy unit plays a vital role to improve the functional ability of children with physical disabilities. This unit performs a number of important services such as assessment of the level of functional ability of the children, perform rehabilitative exercise on children, education and trains parents on exercises, nutritional and health requirements of children to improve these condition.The other function of the unit is also to improve appropriate and affordable rehabilitative devices that could also be turned out in the rural homes. †¢ Special Education class: The children who come to the special education unit are referred by schools or these who are on the verge of dropping out of schools due to learning difficulties. These are children who require special attention or not able to cope in class room situations. Special education class provide the children with learning difficulties to over come their problem and to develop the knowledge.It provides the children to understand the weakness they have and to get the help of the staff of the centre. The staff have developed a good relationship with the children and it helps most students to improve. †¢ Behaviour Modification: This unit is one place where children who have extreme behaviour difficulties such as those who are hyperactive or are not able to concentrate. They are received to a special unit where they are provided with guidance and unique activities to help them sit in a place, improve concentration, improve working together, learn patience, etc.After these, children learn to control themselves, they are moved to other section for rehabilitative exercises. B. Vocational Training Centre (VTC) Ampitiya The aim of the vocational centre of CBR is to assist children with special abilities to develop their skills to enhance their dignity by helping them to explore and learn about their inherent skills and develop them further to enable productive and more independent living. The children have special talents. After their education, if they are not supported to enhance, they may be lost while they enter the lager society.This is especially true for the children with mental and physical disability. They normally do not get sufficient assistance from government. To cope up with this situation and to reduce the problems they face, in 1999 WDC started the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) within the CBR. In the beginning VTC started with 24 students and given them training in carpet making, envelopes, paper bags and in carpentry. The Ampitiya centre belongs to the (government) department of social s erves and WDC was requested to run this centre.As WDC maintain very good rapport with government departments but lacks required resources, this request was considered timely and opportune. This centre has three units for residential care, vocational training and school for special education. Mostly, the vocational trainings are for those children who pass out from various rehabilitation centres and have no other future prospects. At present, there are around 20 children both females and male children learning various skills, not only at the Ampitiya centre but also in other community level rehabilitation centres.The type of vocational training are Carpentry, Eakle broom production, Candle production, Cement flower pots making, Handloom, Sewing/rug – making, Fabric/Pottery paint, Envelop making, Paper bag making, Home gardening, Greeting cards, Stocki-net flower making and Patch work. It must be mentioned that it is not easy to train children with disabilities with certain phy sical mental disabilities. The teachers require patience and concentration all the time especially when they are training to use various tools. While some products can be promoted to competitive markets, this is not always possible.Some children take a very long time to learn the skills but some perhaps cannot go beyond making rugs. Some of the trainees who train the children themselves have been trained by the VTC As part of network building the teachers of VTC also visit Digana rehabilitation hospital for spinal injuries to give vocational training for patients. This training while it goes as part of rehabilitative exercises, also provides a good training to start own employment in their houses. Further staff of Digana hospital says that those training also have tremendous psychosocial impact on the patients.There are many programmes conducted in collaboration with the government organizations and most of the time the VTC receive invitations /requests to participate in their progr ammes. Specially sports events and other competitions. It really help student to appreciate their own capacities. In the year of 2007, 3 students were selected from Amptiya VTC to represent Sri Lanka for Para Olympics in china. C. Manikhinna Community Based Rehabilitation Centre Manikhinna centre was started in the year of 1992. During the 14 year period, it has provided a variety of services to the community.Currently the centre is located at the Ganadevi kovila, old temple and provides the services to the children with disability as well as to the community. The main aim of the centre is to use the available resource in the community and use them for the development of socially handicapped people. Mainly this centre carries out the process to rehabilitate mentally and physically challenged children. Counselling, speech therapy, mentally retarded (MR) class, vocational training and Physiotherapy are the major activities carried out in this centreThe centre maintains good relationsh ip with the temple and the local politicians and the benefit of good rapport improves their service to the community. Manikhinna Community Based Rehabilitation centre has provided many services to the community. The program has enabled the community to build some houses and toilets among the needy families. Parents too get self employment training in order to make the family financially stable. The centre strongly believe to make a better environment for the child. Making the family self employed help the child considerably in the rehabilitation process.The training to parents on self employment further helps to integrate the children with disabilities within family and community. So many changes have also occurred in the community sine the CBR program began in this community. Among them is the awareness of disabilities that has taken place among the community and community under stand this kind of children require special attention and care. When the Manikhinna centre initially sta rted, the staff visited many communities. In the process they also identified villages classed as ‘Low caste’, and those ‘working with devils’. hese village were normally neglected by other villages, and government officers never visited them nor did the temple accept their alms. However, when the CBR staff started to visit them, inviting the priests and government officers to the CBR centre, the situation started gradually changing. Sudeep is a 16 year old boy having learning difficulties. According to the doctors he is a mentally retarded child. He come from a poor family and his father left him and the family. CBR helped his mother to build a house because they do not have proper shelter. Currently this child is attending Speech and Language Therapy classes in the CBR centre.It is interesting to note that this child manages to read and write to some extent. When the documenter asked Sudeep whether he could visit his newly built house he was overjoyed. Wi th outmost interest Sudeep help the documenter to visit his house and get information about his village. The development that has taken place in this child is important to the society as well as for the child’s own future. D. Matale Community Based Rehabilitation Centre Matale Community Based Rehabilitation Centre was started in the year 2000 and currently it is situated at Hunukate Alokaramya Temple.The service rendered by the staff of this centre are recognized by the people and they give their fullest support to the CBR program. There are 75 children currently getting the services from this centre. It carries out the rehabilitation activities for mentally and physically challenged children. It provides Counselling, speech therapy, MR class, self employment training and Physiotherapy. Due to ignorance and lack of awareness most of the community people face many problem. The CBR centre has taken steps to conduct awareness programs to the community, such as the orthopaedic ca mp conducted by the ‘Centre for Handicap’ organization.It is a good example of how the CBR unite coordinate with other organizations to improve the services for the people. Anther awareness program is on nutrition. It is an important program for the community as most of the parents and children do not have proper nutrition. Good nutrition has been identified as one of the most important aspects to minimize disability. Documenter got the opportunity to speak with the midwife of the community and learned how the CBR program benefited the lives of people. According to her earlier there was no awareness among the people about the disabilities and they totally neglected those people with disabilities.But when the CBR staff started to work with the people they became aware about the problem and sought the help of the CBR centre. She also mentioned that the staff are able to build a good rapport with people and provide a lot of support to those who approach them. Amila Kumara is a student doing his advance level (A/L) this year. His mother is working abroad and his father is dead. At the time he approached the CBR program, he was totally neglected by his family members due to his physical disability. He has difficulty to walk.Due to this difficulty he did not attend the A/L classes. But with the support of the CBR centre he has improved a lot and now he can walk by himself. He got so much of motivation from the CBR staff and support that encouraged him to do his A/L. He will sit for the examination this year. He is so happy about the CBR program and he says that because of this program his life has changed. E. Teldeniya Community Based Rehabilitation centre Teldeniya centre was started in the year of 2004. Currently the centre is lacated in the Teldeniya primary school.With the limited space this centre is functioning well and provids much services to the community. In this centre Counselling, speech therapy, MR class, self employment training and Physio therapy programs are available for the community. As the centre is located within the school premises, it has developed a strong relationship with the school programs and work closely with the school to provide better services. This centre also conducts awareness programmes and organized women's groups. This centre too provides training on self employment. Tailoring class seem popular.There is a teacher employed by Government handling this class for the parents of these children. In this centre staff have been able to create a good environment with government officials as well as other top level officials in order to provide better service to the community. Documenter got an opportunity to speak with the school principal and learn how the CBR program fulfils the needs of the community. According to him, prior to the program there were no support to the children with mental and physical disabilities, they where totally neglected within the schools as well as in the community.The CBR programme provided these children with disabilities an opportunity to come out of their difficult situation. According to the principal earlier there was no one to help the children with leaning and behavioural difficulties in their education in the school. Teachers were disinterested in such children as they where more interested to help the able children. After the rehabilitation programme was started, we are now able to send these children to this centre and now I am happy to see the improvement of these children due to the help they got form this program. Some of the children we sent to this centre have come back and are now studying with normal children, It is a joy nice to see how they have change†. Deshika Kolabaga is a 6 year old child having much difficulty in her behaviour pattern. Since 3 years she is attending the CBR centre and gets speech therapy and special education support. According to her mother Deshika underwent so much of difficulty with in the family due to her ways of behaviour. All her family members neglected and reject her. But since she started to attend the CBR program she has remarkably improved.She has been able to get over most of her behaviour problems, she is now able to do her work normally and manage to win every one hearts in the family. The family members now understand that she has to get special care and attention from the family. Desheka’s mother is so happy about the staff of the organization and says that it is due to their care and support that her child has improved and she is thankful for them. F. Haragama Community Based Rehabilitation centre Haragama centre was started in the year of 2004, since then there have been so much of changes in the community because of the CBR program.It has given lot of services to the community for the upliftment of children with disabilities. Currently the centre is located close to the WDC Crisis centre. Like other CBR centres this centre too caries out the duties of reh abilitating mentally and physically challenged children. It provides Counselling, speech therapy, MR classes, self employment training and Physiotherapy. Most of the parents of children who come to the centre said that prior to bringing their children to the centre, they faced many difficulties due to lack of awareness on how to handle the children.But with the CBR programme, life has become much easier. It has also facilitated looking at the problems as a community. The parents of these children are very poor and therefore the CBR programme also help the mothers through skills training on basket making etc. It is expected that after this training the mothers will engage themselves in self employment. The documenter had the opportunity to speak with a group of basket-making women in the centre, they were so happy and willingly came forward to explain how and what kind of service they get from WDC as an organization.The mothers explained that prior to coming to the CBR program, they faced much hardships and their children experienced many difficulties in learning, behavioural problems, etc due to the disabilities. However the mothers are very happy about the improvement that they see in their children. They also feel relieved due to this improvement. The mothers also appreciate the training they received to work with their children to participate in the rehabilitation process of their children. G. Madolkale Community Based Rehabilitation centre This centre was started in the year 2000.The program in particular supports the disabled children in the plantation sector. Currently the centre is located close to Paramsehwara Tamil College Madolkale, and looks after around 24children. Because this centre is located in close proximity to plantation sector, most of the children come from families working in plantation sector. Serving the plantation itself is a unique experience for the WDC/CBR unit, as there are very few programs implemented to serve the estate sector. Compared to all other projects of WDC/CBR unit, the parents of most children have a very low level of literacy.In general, though it is a community living close to each other, it is not a close community that supports one another. Since both parents go to work, the children with disabilities and practically the mothers who are burdened with many functions face a lot of difficulties. Initially the staff also found it difficult to located children. It was also difficult to make parents understand why it is important to pay special attention to children with disabilities. Gradually the programme has taken root in the community. The parents, teachers and children are now able to understand its importance.Because the school community and children appreciate the program, the organization enjoys good reputation. There are 24 children who attend speech class, speech therapy, MR class, and self employment training. Other than this, 2 families receive the help of WDC. One parent was helped to cement the floor of their house while another received tea plants to initiate an income generation activity. As the staff identified the problems of low nutrition being low, they also conducted training and education session on nutritionThe documenter had the opportunity to speak with some of children who were engaged in sewing handkerchiefs. These were children with learning difficulties as well as physical disabilities. According to them they are happy now because they get the opportunity to learn some useful things for their future and these children really feel more secure due to the CBR program. There are other skills training activities such as bag making, making envelopes and candles, etc. H. Ulapane Community Based Rehabilitation centre Ulapane centre was started in 1995.During the 17 year period it has given many services to the community to help through many development activities. Currently the centre is located in at the Ulapane Maha Vidyalaya and providing the services to the children through the special education unit. In my view, compared to other centres, Ulapane is a difficult terrain to work due to hilly slopes. The area that the staff are required to cover is wide. Children are brought to this centre from very faraway places. The staff also require to travel far to make home visits.There are also many physically disabled children that the parents are unable to bring to the centre on a routine basis. Therefore, the staff are required to make much effort to visit all of them despite transportation difficulties in the area. Also the resources are very limited Like other centres it mainly carries out the process of rehabilitation of mentally and physically challenge children. It gives Counselling, speech therapy, MR class, vocational training and Physiotherapy. This centre has built a good reputation among the government officers and the social welfare organizations. According to the school Principal, the CBR program has created so much of awar eness about disabilities in the community that it has become easy to identify disabilities among the children. Initially people did not have an understanding what this center was doing for children with disabilities but, with time, they have gained understanding and started to help the school in ways they could. He said â€Å"It is a privilege, as a Principal, for me to take part in this program†. Listening to the Principal it was clear to me that he is satisfied with the CBR program and appreciates the work they are doing.The change in awareness and the quality of life of children are remarkable. The staff of the Ulapane unit also indicated that apart from the services they render to the children, the mothers of the children also have become members of a women's forum. Through this forum, the mothers get training and support to develop income-generation towards economic empowerment. Ashma is a girl having learning difficulties. She has been dropped out from two schools and n ever given enough support and guidance for her education. She has been totally neglected from the school and it created some confusion and difficulties for her.When her father started to take her in to the CBR program she started showing improvement in her education and her father is vary happy about her development. According to her father she is getting proper care and support for her education due to which she is motivated and shows interest in studies. The Father said now he could understand why she was not able to study well in the schools, that it was due to the lack of capabilities of the schools teachers to understand slow learning. When such children started attending school and fall into the wrong and incapable hands of teachers, the school careers of children are ruined.Such children then become isolated and ashamed. They are branded as those who cannot study, rather than saying that they were in the hands of incapable teachers. From the above case-study, it is clear that the kind of service provided to the community become more important and indeed it create lot of awareness about disabilities and what kind of services are available for them. I. Pothgoda Community Based Rehabilitation Centre This centre is located at Pothgoda Rajasinha Vidyalaya as a special unit. This unit started to work in the community since 2002.The importance of this unit is mainly to concentrate to bring behavioural changes and help slow learning children to get proper support through education. The special emphasis of this unite is to provide special education to the children who are having learning difficulties due to M/R. It should be noted that not only children with MR face difficulties of being misunderstood, the parents too face difficulties and are saddened by the fact that they are not able to understand their children. The parents of these children are engaged in cultivation as their main occupation and most of the parents are poorly literate.This has an impact on the development of the children. Children with disabilities normally get isolated from the families and get neglected. They may not receive proper care and support. Therefore, the services of the CBR unit become important to develop the sensitivity of the family towards children with disabilities, so that proper attention could be paid to children. From the perspective of the children, when children are not understood and proper attention paid by the school, most children end up as drop outs from schools. Therefore, such units are playing an important role to lift the education level of children.They are able to make improvements and get back to the normal education after they gain improvement. The staff also shared that in families where there are children with disabilities, the families also have many conflicts that make the life of children extremely difficult. The staff understanding this situation, also provides counselling. According to the principal, this unit has had major i mpact on the community and to lift the standard of education of the children with disabilities. Recently, the unit also conducted an awareness program to the school teachers on depression. Another awareness programme for the community was on nutrition.Such programmes have provided many benefits for the children and their families. He noted with satisfaction that some children have been able to get back their normal class after improvement. J. Galpihilla Community Based Rehabilitation centre Galpihilla Centre has been started 1998 and currently located at the Galpihilla primary school. The function of this unit is to provide special education to the children who have been identified to have learning disabilities. Most of the children in the unit have multiple difficulties and shown improvement with CBR intervention. The children who come to this centre come from the nearby community.As has been explained, in relation to other centres, it needs to be reiterated the hapless situation o f the children with disabilities where there is no understanding how to handle and care for such children. According to the principal most families in the community are poor and this poverty situation directly affects children with disabilities. With the intervention of the CBR on the lives of children to develop their level of independence, it has helped to free the time of the parents which adds to their awareness and their co-operation in this regard. Rumasha Abeyanaike was born in 1990 with physical disabilities.Her father is a labourer. His earnings are not enough to meet the needs of family. In 1992 she came to the special unit for treatment. Because of her physical disabilities she was not able to move freely. With the help and support of the centre she gained control over her limbs and posture. With the exercises, by the CBR staff and at home by her parents, within about 4 years she was able to sit. When she was able to control her limbs, she was trained to use thread frames to develop skills. She excelled in both education and in making lace work. Over the years she also learned to work with out help.All these achievements have made her family very happy. K. Community visual Rehabilitation program Community visual Rehabilitation program is one among the important activities carried out under CBR program. It mainly concentrates on the blind or the people who have difficulties in their vision. Currently this program functions as a separate unit under CBR program. This program was introduced in 2001. Because of a good network system that WDC has developed they received an invitation from an organization based in the south of Sri Lanka to send three volunteers for a training program on blindness.After this training program was over, the 3 volunteers trained other staff in the WDC. A study that was subsequently conducted around Kandy, identified 128 persons with vision difficulties. Identification of such a large number of persons from all ages with vision difficulties is an eye opener to the divisional secretariat as the general perception was that blindness is not a problem in Kandy. The aim of this program is to deviate from a purely clinical model of intervention.Therefore, the intervention contains a package of service of screening, awareness on prevention of blindness or to make those with vision difficulties independent and productive; counselling to those affected and their family members; reducing poverty through involvement in income generation activities etc. While all 128 persons were referred for medical support, initially the programme identified 4 people for holistic care intervention. The expansion of the programme firstly concentrated in the Gangawata Korale divisional secretariat for 23 persons and later to Pathahewaheta and then to Harispathuwa divisions.In 2004, the number of clients in this programme increased to 43 persons. The clients feel that since they participate in the rehabilitation programme, they receiv ed more respect from the family members, earn as well as, save money, and it has contributed to improve the quality of their lives As part of the programme, the blind people underwent special training and counselling programme like how to do their day-to-day activities; how to use the white cane; and the ways of earn a living. Because of this program, some are engaged in small seale trade such as selling cloths, tea, etc, while some make paper bags, lamp wicks, joss sticks, etc.Kusumawati is a middle-aged lady with vision problem. When the Community visual Rehabilitation program reached her, she was living with her sister and was dependent on her. Once she got sufficiently rehabilitated, she started working in a near by joss sticks factory. However she did not receive sufficient salary. The CBR staff helped her to manufacture joss sticks in her house. She was able to earn and save money from her business, and build her own house and started to live on her own. Now she cooks her own meals and does her day to day activities by herself. From the financial ssistance she gets from the government and with the income generated from her small business, she is able to live happily. Above case study a good example of how a Community Blind Rehabilitation program could help the lives of needy people. There are many social welfare organizations in and round Kandy district but the only organization giving support to blind people to improve mobility and to start self employment is Women's Development Centre (WDC). Joss Sticks making Goat rearing 08. REMARKS There is sufficient evidence that the CBR programme makes a big difference in the lives of the children with disabilities and their families.Most of the children in the CBR program come from the poorer sector which itself is a big a hindrance for development, as children tend to lack the basic needs that are vitally important. The programme has proven its viability to improve the quality of life. †¢ Intervention: It is evident from many responses, that the CBR staff are experienced and skilled than most others like teachers to make good assessments of client to identify the condition of the children with disabilities. , whether they come from schools or community. They are able to be holistic in their assessments.They are also better able to build good rapport and win confidence of the children, their families and others such as school teachers, principals etc. Their level of professionalism and also the way they receive other support in the assessment enables them to develop more effective rehabilitation plan that is holistic. †¢ Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation is the most important process in CBR programme. It creates opportunity for the children with difficulties to receive right intervention and rehabilitation to overcome their problems with the help of the staff in the CBR program.There is a wide range of difficulties which are visible, with children like the physical disability, learn ing difficulties, behaviour problems, blind, profound deafness, hydrocephalous, down syndrome, multiple disabilities, speech problem, autistic and mental retardation. In the CBR programme they carry out activities to help the children to over come their problems and through this process they are rehabilitated. The activities such as Counselling, speech therapy, MR class, vocational training, special education class, awareness programs and Physiotherapy.It is remarkable to see how the staffs of the CBR program work closely with the children as well as with the parents to fulfil the task to improve the status of children and create an environment for the personal development and make rehabilitation process efficient. What is also interesting is that of available facility for those who get sufficiently rehabilitated, to follow vocational training to make their future independent and skilled, with life-long impact. The vocational training helps them to be employed or to start their own business with the support of their family members. Prevention: although it not possible to totally eradicate people becoming disabled, the CBR program carries out a number of programs to minimize people becoming disabled. While some of them are to raise awareness among the communities such as on intake of proper nutrition, discouraging marriages among blood relations, other are to eradicate poverty, poverty being the root cause for many evils including disablement. Further, the programme also helps marginalized community to learn various services such as health, come to receive rubella or other referrals or even making education more easily available to marginalized. 9. CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT The CBR approach is a holistic process spanning from individual development, continuing through to community. The process can be summarized in the following manner emanating fram the individual ` Speaking about a person with disabilities, he/she is a person with many problems/ difficu lties from within and outside. So the CBR process renders services to solve the disabilities within and this makes the rehabilitation process more effective. When the mind of the person becomes stable and strong, it leads to the improvement of the body conditions.It then leads to develop the spirituality of a person. It is clear when a person develops ones spirituality it leads to the development of his/her social status. All these processes together with other support, then leads to economic improvement. When the rehabilitation of a person is achieved, the process does not end there. It then leads to have positive impact on the community. Rehabilitation process should develop like a scale and it will be a continuous process. 10. KEY LEARNING FROM THE DOCUMENTATION PROCESSAs a documenter, in this section, I wish to present my overall impressions regarding the CBR programme. In overall performance, there are many positive outcome and impacts as a result of the CBR programme. 1. Impac t on the disabled persons: There is an observable change in the quality of life of the children and adults with disabilities as they get enrolled with the programme. They improve in mobility, coordinating limbs, enable continuation of education, improve in communication etc. ost of all, it enhances their dignity transforming them from a dependent, helpless person to an a independent person with abilities. Therefore, the process promotes individuals to become more independent and productive. Engagement on vocational training is a good example of improvement towards economic independence. For creating this impact, the skills of the staff, their commitment, rehabilitation techniques and in particular the social counselling process, have found to be important. 2. Impact on Family living: Within the family, the disabled persons have gained more recognition and acceptance.There is also marked improvement in the sensitivity of family members towards them and therefore, the disabled persons have been able to get appropriate support from the family members. Instead of the dependant persons that were there before, with CBR intervention, the disabled persons are able to contribute to the house-hold chores or in some instances, contribute economically. By this contributions they make, some of the family members who were earlier trapped in to care giving roles, have been freed to become productive by themselves.It is notable in particular, how the mothers have been made free to a large extent. However, it must also be mentioned here that during the initial period of rehabilitation, the work of the mothers also increase tremendously. This extra commitment on their part has not been without rich reward. 3. Access to services and facilities: There is more recognition for the disabled person within the various services such as health, education, resource provision by the divisional secretariats etc.It also has improved the system of providing the referral the much needed atten tion from the service sector. 4. Impact on social relations: In general, there is increased awareness among communities regarding disability situations and therefore the need for community members to work together. While there is more recognition for the disabled persons within the family, especially parents have come together to discuss common issues regarding the disabled children. In the CBR centres, there is a marked contribution by parents together as a community to make the programme a success.Particularly in one community, the programme also helped to unify a socially isolated community. 5. Prevention of Disabilities: Promoting the use of Rubella vaccine, improved nutrition through awareness and training on use of low-cost and natural foods, awareness on compatible marriages etc are seen as specific contribution of the programme. Apart from the above, the following are also identified as areas where there needs to be further improvement: 6. Capacity Building of Vocational Tra ining: The present vocational training that are done especially in the rural centres, has a greater otential for improvement in terms of concept and technical inputs. Developing of capacity of teachers handling this work is important. Further, they also require knowledge and skills to make links to markets and the demands. 7. Access to loans for those with vocational Training: At present, WDC CBR programme provides a lump sum amount to those graduating from the VT. What is not clear is the after-support to family as a unit such as access to loans and follow-up in the development of the income generating activity to a viable enterprise. 8.Community Awareness: It is observed that the greater emphasis of the CBR is on the families directly involved in the programme. This the documenter sees as a limitation. Involvement of the community as a whole will create a bigger and sustainable impact. 9. Self Help Group formation: Strong Self-Help groups in the communities where the CBR programme is implemented is considered an asset as it is not only able to provide stability, but also provide economic support involving both the family members of CBR and other members in the community.One other ability of a self help group is also its ability to tap resources within and outside community. 10. Parental Capacity Building: It is noticed that for any emergency or a need, look up to the staff of CBR to provide leadership. Through community capacity building programme, while it can reduce the work load of staff, it could also provide sustainability to the programme. Therefore, it is desirable that within the programme, capacity building of staff be treated as a specific focus to achieve the set objectives of the programme. 1. Advocacy: There are many issues for which advocacy are required. It is unclear on WDC role on policy advocacy. Two specific areas that has paused a challenge are the effort to do away with the special education units and the other is the poor knowledge of p arents and the clients on the rights for services and facilities for the disabled persons. 12. Linking community Development and Networking: The link between the efforts of the CBR with the community development and Networking which are key direction of WDC dose not surface clearly.Therefore, this coherence of the programme requires further enhancement as finally, goal achievement in communities are common. 11. RECOMMENDATIONS The current CBR programme has a big impact on the lives of the disabled people and make the way for the social development. It is indeed a programme with lot of potential. However there are still areas with the CBR program, the staff can look, further father develop and improve the standard of the community based rehabilitation process. 01) Developing the capacity of the staff in Assessing local needs and resource identifications:There is no one model of rehabilitation service that will suit all circumstances based on local situation. What is needed is a needs -based model for the different circumstances. Some early programmes of CBR were not successful because they did not undertake any research on the perception/needs of the target population, or even considered the availability of local resources. Although there has been improvement in this, the resource identification can be further harnessed. Additionally, there is much room for research based model development.While WDC staffs do understand the cultural barriers and surrounding, the disabled persons, their families and even how such children are hidden due to many different reasons, it is certainly beneficial to conduct in depth study to explore information in order to develop local models of intervention in a more accurate way. In this servies, information within the family systems, factors that influence marginalization of disabled person from participating in social activities, career aspiration by the disabled person, etc. should receive critically sharp focus. 02) Disability re lated Policies, and Programs and Preventive Measures:It is apparent that the WDC staff contributes much in the intervention, prevention and rehabilitation process of the disabled and over the years there is both qualitative and quantitative improvement in their work. This does not mean that there is no room for further improvement. The documenter observes that the knowledge of WDC staff in relation to the policies, programmes and preventive measurers that is available in the larger environment, including in the international arena would help in raising the awareness of communication and in motivating the communities more to wards advocacy.3) Building up resource centre for CBR: It is important to maintain an information centre or resource centre to provide the latest information about community based rehabilitation programs in different parts of the world and its new findings for the development to build or improve the capacity of the staff. There is also a need to upgrade the knowl edge of CBR staff in terms of latest development in the field of disability through personal enhancement as well as having access to IT information. Family Help Line: It is observed that the families of the disabled children supported by WDC mostly live in remote areas with minimum access to infrastructure such as transportation etc. Such families can also be identified as multi-deficit families with poverty, voieance, marginalization etc. Due to remoteness of location of the families, for staff to visit with limited resources is seen as difficult. A family – help line is therefore suggested to be developed when such families could reach at time of needs especially for legal, counselling and referral support, as such a system to access will support as an initial measure.This may be a neighbourhood women's group, knowledge of professionals help with close proximity etc. This may work as a quick and effective linkage between community and the CBR program. †¢ Support Groups : It is observed that most of the families of the disabled children are accessing the CBR centres for every need related to their family needs, thes creating an a opportunity to make the families totally dependaed on CBR program. So in the long run this is not good to reach the CBR objectives. Therefore, formation of Support groups in their communities is strongly recommended.Support groups enable individuals with disabilities and their families to exchange ideas where both positive and negative views can be expressed. It also provides a capacity within the community in emergency situations which support groups can provide. ? Hope ? Information ? Friendship ? Sharing ? Problem-solving ? Personal growth ? Advocacy 04) Forming neighbour hood Groups: It can consist of 10 to 20 members in neighbouring villages near to CBR centres having homogeneity in social status, sex, income, occupation, disabilities. It is the basic organization of poor and the marginalized formed and working at the grassroots level.It is a group that can take responsibilities in the issues where CBR program is functioning. It will be a great chance to build up a strong community relationship to reach disabled people in all communities. 05) Awareness programs: Although CBR programme conducts many awareness programs to the community, it is important to conduct awareness programs to increase the knowledge and to build a strong support system. It provides a foundation where the CBR programs can be implemented more effectively with the help of the community. The awareness program can cover the flowing anticipated outcomes Local leaders have increase awareness and their capacity to make changes in their community and the values to organise local people to take positive steps to support the rehabilitation of disabled people.†¢ Local people have to increased their sensitivity towards the disabilities and their vulnerabilities. †¢ Local people have greater confidence in their own ability to make appropriate changes as they can to promote community based support to the people with disabilities. †¢ Effective and ongoing community organization and action on safe-guards rights of the disabled. Improved local services and facilities in education, health, sanitation which have a big impact on the disabled children. †¢ To develop educated and confident people to take and speak of the issues related to self help measures. 06) Training of the CBR staffs: Efficient training of the newly appointed staff in the CBR program in order to have a positive out come in whole program. It is suggested that the staff get training in every aspects of rehabilitation care in the main Kandy centre, by being able to spend certain amount of time in every unit till they are exposed and skilled.

Money: Bank and Funds

â€Å"Money† is a fascinating object. The process of creating money and using money has always generated enthusiasm amongst mankind for over thousands of years. The main reasons for such enthusiasm are built around the dynamics of the above process. Even more fascinating is the fact, that this process is perhaps the only subject that is foxing both the pundits and the commoners alike. Such being the importance of money, any narration regarding the process shall always provide enough excitement. Keeping this in view, the role and importance of financial intermediaries is being featured for the benefit of readers. A glimpse of this coverage is provided in the following pages to lead them to a wider canvas. Financial Intermediaries Financial intermediaries play a vital role in building economies. World over, in different economies it is typical to find that the sources of funds and the uses of funds are not one and the same. This process is also so complexly structured that while individual contributions comprise the major source of funds to the market, the utilization of funds is done by different sectors in the economy. Capital formation comprising of Savings and Investment holds the key to this process. In this causal sequence, Savings play the role of the initiator. The ability of an economy to generate savings depends on the combined abilities of the general public and the government. It is here that the financial system comes into play by converting the savings into productive results. Significance of Financial Intermediation The savings process is facilitated by the financial Intermediaries. In simple terms, financial intermediaries perform the function of facilitating supply of funds to the user of funds, by obtaining the same from the depositors or savers of funds. The term ‘financial intermediaries’ includes different institutions like Banks, Insurance companies, Investment companies, Developmental Financial Institutions, Non-banking Finance Companies, Mutual funds, Pension funds etc. While the role of above institutions is singular with respect to financial intermediation, the functions that are performed by each one of them are different. In a nutshell, these types of intermediation revolve around liquidity position of funds, risks in loans, and pooling of risks to take advantage of economies of scale. To sum up, the function of financial intermediation has arisen out of the need on the part of savers to reach the investors and the inability of investors to find savers. Developed economic systems may not require the need of full-fledged financial intermediaries, unlike the developing systems. This is due to the fact that the gap between the saver and the investor is absolutely minimal. This is referred to as â€Å"financial disintermediation†. The process of financial disintermediation is best achieved by reducing the cost of funds thereby facilitating direct capital formation, which spurs economic growth. The greatest advantage in this process is the fact that it reduces the time gap between saving of money and utilization. The process of financial intermediation is always fraught with risks. Risks both for the givers of funds and the takers of funds, besides the risks for financial intermediaries themselves. The risk factor arises in the first place out of the need for the availability of information and in the second place the need for players to be aware of the available information. Consequently, the need for regulations and the role for a regulator are felt. Financial Intermediation in Indian context In India, without exception, a single type of intermediary does not perform the task of financial intermediation. Different types of financial intermediaries exist and their functions are discussed below. Banks: Banks comprise the oldest form of financial intermediaries in India. The Indian financial scene is dotted with a number of banking institutions. All these banks are segregated into various categories. This segregation has been done on the basis of their incorporation and the businesses performed by them. Consequently, we have various kinds of banking institutions. These are: i. Commercial banks, ii. Regional Rural Banks, iii. Local Area Banks, iv. Co-operative banks. The above classification suggests that banks have been divided under various types depending on the need to achieve the different economic objectives. While making the above classification, geographical factors, need for sectoral deployment of funds involving allocation of funds for Agriculture, Industry, and Service sector etc. have been taken into consideration. However, gradually, the needs of industrial sector have become so huge and complex that separate institutions have been set up for farming the industrial sector. Development Financial Institutions (DFIs): Deployment of funds in the Industrial sector is a major challenge. Industry’s requirements vary depending upon their short-term and long-term needs. The activities of short-term lending and long-term lending are separate and specialized functions. After understanding this finer aspect, the Government of India took initiative to set up specialized institutions for this purpose. For this reason, we find that most of the DFIs – such as the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), are statutorily formed. These institutions provide finances for most of the greenfield projects in the Indian economy and have made a significant contribution by way of financing long –term projects. It is significant to note here that DFIs have been influenced by the changes in the Indian banking scenario to such an extent that these institutions are conlemplating to become universal banks. Insurance Companies: The path of reformation in the Banking industry has also caught up with the other intermediaries as well. In this respect, Insurance industry is witnessing path-breaking changes. In fact, in many countries Insurance companies perform a leading role as financial intermediaries. In India, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) continues to play a very vital role in mobilizing savings and delivering Insurance, though the industry is experiencing the competition from players both Indian and Foreign. With the entry of banks into the arena of insurance business it is interesting to find the beneficial impact of convergence of banking and insurance business. Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC): The process of Intermediation virtually begins at home, with the household sector. This sector is the basic source of funds for the intermediaries. Such being the important role of the households, NBFCs as independent institutions, have come into existence to meet their financial requirements. The services offered by the NBFCs cater to the whole gamut of needs of the household sector in particular and savers in general. * Emerging Disintermediation in India** With a rapid growth in the intermediation process, the need for financial disintermediation at some stage cannot be overlooked. Realizing fully well that developed systems find lesser need for financial intermediation, in the Indian context the policy reforms aimed at encouraging free market institutions have been moving the financial markets towards disintermediation. The onset of the process of economic liberalization in 1991 has brought about a sea change in the financial markets. The abolition of the office of Controller of Capital Issues (CCI) and the establishment of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 1992 was done essentially with a view to giving an impetus to the capital markets. The market happenings in 1992-94, did strike a hard blow to this mechanism. During the past three years the process of consolidation has begun. Though a reduction in the number of IPOs does suggest to a slackening of the Capital markets, there is also a brighter side of investors becoming more suave. Sources of Funds A discussion on financial intermediaries has to begin with the ‘raw material’ for this activity, i. e. funds. Financial intermediaries are required to raise funds in order to fulfill the needs of both fund-based and non fund-based activities. Considering the various sources and choices available, the financial intermediary considers the following variables in deciding about the ways and means of raising funds. These are: Maturity, Cost of funds, Tax implications, Regulatory framework and Market conditions. Maturity is vital since the intermediary has to plan for the repayment of debt. Since investors look for returns as against the intermediary looking for good spread and income, Cost of funds turns out to be crucial. Tax treatment on returns on some of the instruments could be different – with certain exemptions Thus, Tax implications are useful for tax planning for both the intermediary and the saver. The instruments have to fulfill a plethora of rules and regulations which require the knowledge of Regulatory framework. For designing a particular type of instrument knowledge of Market conditions is essential. Different Sources of Funds In addition to providing low-cost funds, the shareholder route is a popular and easy way for the common public to become ‘owners’ of companies. As the name suggests, the money belongs to the shareholders. Financial institutions have been innovating different methods for raising money from the prospective shareholders. ‘Reserves’ is another source of funds. Incidentally, it is to be known that some of the Reserves are created statutorily. Borrowing by a company is another source of funds for the company, which are repayable with interest. Unlike equity, the funds raised by way of loans are to be repaid. ** **Sources of Funds unique to a Bank The previous classification of sources of funds does not fully explain the avenues for Banks. By virtue of being one of the earliest financial intermediaries, and possibly the most prudent as well, banks have a privileged access to a few more instruments. Considering the fact that different types of financial intermediaries have accessibility to varied types of funds at different rates of interest, it has become necessary for the RBI to lay down norms in this regard. Financial Intermediaries look towards liquidity in the market for enhancing their scope of operations. However, liquidity is a double-edged knife. Excess liquidity or lack of liquidity affects the financial system resulting in either a reduction or an increase in the rate of interest. The cyclical effect is felt by the economy. For controlling liquidity levels in the economy, RBI exercises control through the mechanisms of CRR and SLR. CRR is the reserve to be maintained by banks with the RBI. SLR is the reserve that is maintained by banks for investment in cash, gold or unencumbered approved securities. Deposits The customers’ confidence level reflects the strength of a bank. There is no better way of reflecting the same by any other indicator than Deposits. In the wake of globalization, the avenues for banks for raising funds in the capital market have increased, both in the national and international markets. In terms of value to the Banking system, banks that have a greater deposit base have more value than the banks with a poor deposit base. Banks accept deposits in different ways. Such acceptance could be different in terms of the period, amount, rate of interest and the type of depositor. All the deposit accounts could be classified under Transaction accounts and Non-transaction accounts. The types of accounts that a customer – individually, jointly or corporate can have, are varied. Having said that Deposits are an important source of funds for the banks, a banker is wary about the types of deposits. A term deposit is a dependable source, but the cost is higher than Demand deposits that are low cost funds for the banks. Consequently, the composition of deposits has a direct impact on the profitability of the bank. Application of Funds The real challenge for the financial intermediaries begins at the very end of the first stage i. e. after mobilization of deposits. The meter virtually starts ticking from that time onwards since the deposits are to be repaid by the bank to the customer after a certain period with interest. In order to honor this commitment, financial intermediaries use their funds in different ways. Broadly, the purposes under which they are used can be classified under: i. loans and advances, ii. investments, iii. fixed assets. Loans â€Å"Loan† is a distinct activity wherein funds are taken from the saver and given to the investor. By nationalizing major banks in 1969 and 1980 Government of India sought to direct the utilization of bank funds for socially disired, objectives reflected in priority sector lending. Priority sector lending includes Agriculture and Small Scale Industry as focus areas that would promote equitable development of regions and promote employment avenues. Loans can be classified as secured loans and unsecured loans based on the availability of security or otherwise. Investments The best way to earn attractive return on money is by following an Investment strategy. Since banks have to service their borrowings and deposits at a reasonably good rate and put the funds into more profitable use, Investments in securities offer an option, though in many instances, this is a statutory requirement. There are three main reasons for the Banks to invest in government securities. These are: (i) in case need arises; government securities meet the liquidity requirements of a bank; (ii) it forms a second line of security, for emergency borrowing from RBI, and (iii) for meeting statutory SLR requirements, aimed at protecting the interests of depositor. Banks are also selectively restricted from investing in equity shares. Investments are made in equity shares either through primary issue or by secondary market. Investment initiatives in equity by banks are expected to boost a sagging capital market. Apart from the primary functions of deposit collection and lending, banks also perform treasury operations. The necessity arises out of liquidity compulsions in operations. Banks invest in bonds and debentures as a part of their regular treasury operations and also on behalf of customers. Fixed assets however, constitute a very small amount of investment by banks. The Management of Financial institutions revolves around two basic functions: i. the ability of the intermediary to raise funds, and ii. to deploy them. These two activities determine the sustenance as well as profitability of the intermediaries. Lending Function Apart from the fact that Lending constitutes the major source of income for the bank, the process of lending also depends on the bankers’ appraisal skills. The banks’ funds can be applied in two major areas i. e. investments in securities and credit accommodation. In the process, banks essentially look to balance the ‘spreads’. Apart from the necessity of complying with the regulatory prescriptions, requirement of profitability virtually forces banks to develop an organized credit deployment mechanism. The credit policy of banks is determined by the demand and supply of loanable funds of banks. Firstly, on the demand side of the economy there are the consumers of goods and services. Secondly, the need for credit comes from the corporate sector in the manufacturing, trading and services sectors. Credit management is a specialized area. This is due to the fact that there are different types of credit, and each type of credit is characterized by certain unique factors. Loan is a broad term used to explain the different types of credit facilities – short/medium term extended in the credit market. The selection of the type of loan by a borrower depends on three factors namely, need for credit, cost factor, and cash flow requirements. Since a loan has a demand side and supply side as well, loans can be classified accordingly. Demand side loans will be individual loans while Supply side loans can be classified as commercial loans. As in the case of a borrower, for the bank, providing the loans depends on three factors, namely the nature of credit, the type of security and the purpose of loan. Based on these parameters, further classification of the banks’ advances is done. Loans are also further classified under secured and unsecured loans. Banks have been providing advances to different sectors of the economy and at the same time providing loans to the needy sectors. The sectoral classification of bank loans is made as under: i. priority sector, ii. public sector, iii. banking sector, and iv. others. Loan Appraisal and Disbursal Preliminary appraisal involves an analysis of the market, technology, financial, and managerial skills of borrowing. Once the bank decides to finance, other critical issues are the decisions relating to the mode of financing. Finance is given for land, site development, building, plant and machinery and also for working capital. Banks arrive at the amount of Maximum Permissible Bank Finance (MPBF) through various appraisal methods. **Non-fund Based Services* Non-fund based Services Non-fund based advances in the form of: Letters of Credit and Guarantees offer a very attractive proposition to the banker. Since funds disbursement arises only on default or the happening or non-happening of an event, bank holds only contingent liability. Payments and clearing operations Clearing and remittences constitute important services under ancillary services. The major role of a bank involves mobilizing savings and channelizing them into investments. Complementing these activities are ancillary services of the banks which facilitate the entire payment and settlement system of financial transactions