Implementation Strategies

Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) formarly known as Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) is the preferred approach to empowering persons with disabilities in low income countries. The strategy promotes the empowering of communities through skills transfer to community cadres so that they are able to identify, assess, and provide basic interventions as well as to refer persons with disabilities for more specialiased support. CBID acknowledges the cross cutting nature of disability and the implementation of multi sectoral approaches in service delivery.

IBR program is implemented through Council's vocational training centers. The council has two vocational training centers namely Kamuzu Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Center (KVRTC) located at Magomero in Chiradzulu and Lilongwe Vocational Training Center (LVTC) located in Lilongwe. The two centers are registered with TEVETA.

Services such as technical and vocational skills training and post training support are provided to youths with disabilities. At full capacity, the two institutions can enroll 336 youths with disabilities per year, but at present they enroll at half capacity due to financial constraits.

This service is provided through support to Visually Impaired Farmers in Agricultural Resettlement Schemes of Ndakwera in Chikwawa, Rivi-Rivi in Balaka and Chinguluwe in Salima as well as through extension services to persons with disabilitities in the non CBR districts.

Visually impared persons have been intergrated in settlements schemes since the early 70s, where farmers practice farming together with their sighted counterparts. They grow crops like Maize, Cotton, Tobbacco, Groundnuts for sale.

Support to visually impared persons in each scheme is cordinated by Resettlements Assistants employed by MACOHA. Technically, the farmers benefit from agriculture extension services of the Ministry of Agriculture. In total, 55 blind farmers are currently benefiting from this arrangement.