Several organizations working in the disability sector, such as Healing Hands for Haiti, the Haitian Aid Societyfor the Blind (AAHS), the Special Education Centre (ESC), the Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Montfort Institute, the Ark, met recently in workshop under the initiative of the Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH), with the support of the Organization of American States (OAS), to initiate discussions on the construction of Departmental Centers for Persons with Disabilities (CDPH) in each of the 10 departments and define the functions of these centers.

The CDPH, a structure under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MAST), wants to be a Guidance and referencing center, towards specialized services, of training and rehabilitation. An autonomous public institution, expected to play an important role in efforts aimed at social integration of people with special needs.

According to the initiators of the project, the CDPH will participate to build or rebuild the disabled person by intervening in different aspects of the life of the latter. Thus, the institution proposes to be equipped with a multidisciplinary team to intervene among others in training, health and rehabilitation activities that will affect people with disabilities and their families.

Following this first meeting in which were also discussed, admission criteria to the Centers and services to offer, all participants agreed that these structures should promote inclusion "The Center should be an instance of reference in each department who will have to make known the needs of people with disabilities to the institutions and ensure that follow are made," said Maryse Jean Jacques of CES, one of the first organization to work on this project alongside the BSEIPH.

Studies will be carried out in several departments of the country in order to verify the feasibility of the project, the beginning of the execution is scheduled for 2014.

HL/ HaitiLibre