Following the regional training on Age and Disability Capacity (ADCAP) Minimum Standard and Sphere which was held in Kathmandu earlier this year, Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) took initiatives to conduct a second training on the topics. Took place in Manila on July 24 – 28, 20 people from various background participated in the training. Representatives from government institutions, Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs), elderly-focused organisations, community-based organisations (CBOs), NGO and INGO were actively engaged during the training activities. This wide range background of participants opened lively dialogues across sector, which also bridged the often emerged gap between development and humanitarian action.
Inclusion was not only a key topic of the training. The spirit of inclusion clearly reflected from the mix of participants and the facilitators. Among the main facilitators, there was Benjamin Bernandino (Jun) from Life Haven, a Manila-based DPO, who has quadriplegic due to spinal cord injury c-4 level. Discussion and knowledge sharing with participants from elderly group also enriched the training activity with broader perspective.
Supported by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH), the training also invited personal assistant and carer to share their view and experience. “We thought it was really important to have them ‘on stage’ because personal assistant and carer are often overlooked. If persons with disability is a blind spot in humanitarian action, then personal assistant and carer is a blind spot of the blind spot,” said Axel Schmidt, lead trainer from ASB. Emphasising on people-centered approach, the training focused on capacity transfer to enable inclusive application of humanitarian action. The training aimed to encourage participants to implement Sphere and ADCAP standards and internalising inclusion spirit in their humanitarian works. (Rizma Kristiana)
