Lebanon: Involving Children with Disabilities in Peace Camps
By Barbara Kolucki (bakoluck@aol.com)
In 1999, the UNICEF-Beirut Office made a conscious effort to enhance the concept of child participation in a variety of ways. They developed several activities that were designed to empower children in all issues concerning them. One activity was a Summer Peace Education Camp. The priority was to make children aware of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and to practice the principles of this convention during the summer camp activities.
As a first step, a training of trainers workshop was organized. Participating were 55 CRC trainers who, after their workshop, worked to engage leaders or "animators" of the activities of various NGOs and scout associations covering all Lebanese regions. This resulted in coverage of children aged 10-16 years from all over Lebanon, and all sectors of society such as children in conflict with the law, working children, children with special needs and children living in institutions.
It was later discovered that the children with physical disabilities were not represented in these activities; therefore two summer camps were especially organized for a group of blind children and a group of children with physical disability. Non-disabled children were also integrated with them in these camps.
In all camps, children themselves defined their needs and the problems they were facing. They prioritized them, suggested solutions and defined their roles in these solutions. They then elected a group of children to represent them and discuss their issues with the decision-makers.
Children were encouraged to express themselves using many forms of communication such as dancing, theatrical performances, songs, drawing, or discussions with the concerned decision makers.
Problems Identified by Children with Disabilities
At the end of the camps, elected children presented their problems and suggestions for solutions to decision makers among whom were municipality members, mayors, representatives from concerned ministries, representatives of NGO.
Some of the topics that were discussed by the children were: bad quality of or unavailability of education, school drop out and child labor, discrimination, lack of health service and awareness, home violence and violence in institutions, lack of sanitary services, the effects of war and landmines.
The main problems expressed by the children who were blind or physically disabled were violence, living in special institutions, discrimination, lack of special medical services, lack of efforts to integrate them with non-disabled children and consequently in society.
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