Bethesda Pool (Ministry to those with Disabilities) - Introduction

Disability can result from many kinds of medical conditions and congenital deformities. People with disabilities are marginalised in many communities and this often posses challenges to them e.g. inaccessibility, lack of livelihood, lack of ability to grow food to eat, dependency, non-acceptance and isolation. However, through community based rehabilitation (CBR) and medical intervention their lives can be greatly improved restoring the capacity of disabled people.

These disabilities range from:

• Physical , including disabilities at birth, from accident or illness such as club foot (talipes), cleft palate & hare lip, polio or spinal injury, etc.
• Deafness / blindness either from birth, from disease or from ageing.
• Mental Impairment – due to brain damage at birth or from accident, etc.

Vision:

Transformed lives of the disabled persons for sustainable livelihood.

Mission:

Empowering the disabled persons to participate in productive activities.

Goal:

Having empowered and assimilated disabled persons in the community.

Objectives:

• To develop a database for people with disabilities.
• To establish the disabled peoples ministry structure in the Local Transformation Units.
• To build the capacity of the Local Transformation Unit committees for persons with disability.
• To sensitise and mobilise families to respond to the needs of the disabled.
• To establish community based rehabilitation centres in all Local Transformation Units.
• To disciple the disabled to evangelise.
• To network and partner with other interested groups in providing curative, preventive measure and mobility aids.

Strategies

• Through assistant coordinators develop a register for disabled persons.
• Mobilise families' churches, provincial administration and communities to understand the needs of the disabled.
• Empower coordinators, assistant coordinators and facilitators at the Local Transformation Units.
• Partnership and networking with other programmes.

Issues to be addressed:

• Corrective surgery and mobility aids.
• Income generating projects (IGP).
• Community based rehabilitation.
• Community participation.
• Demonstrating the love of Christ towards disabled persons.