WID's International Program provides training and technical assistance to disabled persons organizations (DPOs) in developing countries to conduct effective disability advocacy, community barrier removal and public education campaigns; develops programs and national policies; and creates networks and national coalitions to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities into all aspects of society. Since 2004, WID has worked in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Georgia, Iraq, Russia and Uzbekistan.

For more information on WID's international training and technical assistance projects, contact Bruce Curtis, International Program Manager, at bruce@wid.org.

Georgian Wheelchair Production Network

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), WID’s International Program launched in 2009 a 3-year project in the Republic of Georgia. Working in partnership with Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI) and the Coalition for Independent Living in Georgia, along with their regional member organizations, the Association of Disabled Women and Mothers of Disabled Children in Zugdidi and the Association of Gori Disabled Club, the project is setting up a sustainable wheelchair production and repair facility in Tbilisi; a postural support seating and cushion service; networked wheelchair sales, distribution and repair businesses in Gori and Zugdidi; a mobility, self-care, and advocacy skills training system for men and women who use wheelchairs; and business and advocacy networks between disability communities in Georgia. The project will also conduct advocacy, public education, and community accessibility barrier removal activities in Tbilisi, Gori and Zugdidi. Most of the factory workers and advocacy team members are people with disabilities, and almost all are wheelchair users.

The factory will produce a minimum of 1,000 low-cost, high-quality Whirlwind RoughRider™ indoor-outdoor wheelchairs and, eventually, other assistive mobility devices for Georgian wheelchair users. The Association of Gori Disabled Club will make pressure relieving wheelchair cushions, and local professionals at the Children’s Center for Rehabilitation will be trained in adaptive seating and will fit and produce supported seating for children in wheelchairs.

The advocacy teams will conduct peer support groups, regional mobility and self-help skills camps for wheelchair users, and disability awareness and community access/barrier-removal trainings and roundtables to educate NGO staff, media professionals, teachers, government officials, lawyers, and architects about the need to improve community access; improve access to key public buildings by identifying and removing barriers; increase public awareness via organizing disability film exhibitions, media and poster competitions, and the production of a public education video to be shown at film exhibitions and on Georgian national television as well as a public service announcement for broadcast on local radio stations on community accessibility and a barrier-free environment; and host National Forums on Community Accessibility for government officials and lawmakers, professionals, media, and persons with mobility impairments and their families on issues and lessons learned in Georgia and to discuss strategies for implementation of legislation promoting a barrier free environment.

Building an Inclusive Development Community (BIDC) Project

WID is collaborating with Mobility International USA and other US-based disability NGOs to promote inclusive development by providing field-based technical assistance for USAID Missions and their implementing partners, as well as DPOs in Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan and Mali. Funded by the USAID, the project will identify a leading DPO in each of the four target countries to work with to establish priorities, identify key stakeholders and coordinate field visits.  As part of MIUSA and USAID’s commitment to investing in local resources, the project will also conduct a small grants competition to support partnerships between DPOs and development agencies and promote capacity building for DPOs to participate in development initiatives in their countries. WID staff joined MIUSA and Disability Rights and Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) consultants to complete the first training and technical assistance visit to Colombia in November 2009.