Building bridges

Creating disabled-friendly environments in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, a common approach to disability is the welfare or charity model, which considers people with disabilities to be passive recipients of benefits. Community-based approaches, on the other hand, facilitate disabled people's independence and their ability to contribute to their families and communities. Yet, how feasible is the community-based approach given that most disabled people live in remote areas, where building and maintaining community infrastructure is considered costly and difficult?

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The Intermediate Technology Development Group in Sri Lanka is working on inclusive planning that includes disabled people in development initiatives. A pilot project in a rural village in the Kandaketiya-Badulle district explored the needs of disabled people to find solutions to improve their lives.

ITDG identified 62 people with disabilities from 537 families, of which 29 had mobility difficulties. The planning process, which involved disabled people and other community members working together, resulted in the decision to construct appropriate physical infrastructures that would help disabled people to be more involved in community life.

One such intervention was the construction of three footbridges by community members (including disabled people) over the river between the village and the main road. They replaced temporary wooden crossings which would get washed away during heavy rains. The new bridges can support wheelchairs, are accessed by ramps and have handrails on both sides to increase safety for all users. They provide access to daily and basic services, including the school, community health centre, religious places and markets. The bridges have assisted not only disabled people but others as well, including elderly people and those carrying heavy loads on a daily basis.

The community also identified the need to improve conditions in and around the homes of disabled people. New ramps now enable those with physical impairments to more easily get to and from the main roads from their homes. A local non-governmental organisation, GAMANA, also trained local masons and community volunteers to build disabled friendly toilets (see this page).

ITDG's experience in Sri Lanka shows that:

• Active participation by disabled people in development projects, from the initial consultation stages onwards, is crucial to ensuring that solutions are practical, usable and effective.
• Designs and technologies should be adaptable to local circumstances and the needs of disabled people and their families.
• Designs should be simple and easily replicable by local contractors and technicians at little cost.

Janaka Hemathilake
ITDG - South Asia
No. 5, Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha
Kirulapone
Colombo 5
Sri Lanka
T +94 11 2829412
F +94 11 2856188
JanakaH@itdg.slt.lk

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