Fergus Roche
Volunteer with the Little Sisters of the
Assumption
Cali, Colombia
Fergus
Roche, a volunteer with the Little Sisters of
the Assumption, and his wife, Maura, tell us
about the work of the Sisters in Income
Generation with people with disabilities, having
visited the Sisters’ Enterprise Project in Cali,
Colombia:
The Little Sisters of the Assumption have lived
and worked in solidarity with the poor for many
years in the south west zone of the city of Cali,
which is a very impoverished area. As their work
brings them right into the heart of the family,
they are very aware of the struggle of those
with disabilities.
Many
are displaced people, forced off their lands by
the struggle between FARC Guerillas, the right
wing militia, or the Army. In the last 10 years
a million people have moved to the city,
doubling the population and putting huge
pressure on already scarce resources. Life was
very hard in these shanty areas but if you have
a disability you are doubly disadvantaged - and
if you are a woman with a disablity, it is even
worse.
Although much lip service is given to women with
disabilities in Colombia and consciousness has
been raised, nothing constructive happens. They
suffer higher rates of unemployment, inferior
salaries, less access to health, a greater lack
of education, no access to programmes directed
at women and a greater risk of sexual abuse.
Added to this, they are sometimes themselves
mothers of families or mothers of children with
disabilities and cannot work outside the home.
The sisters, with the help of local people, set
up the Antoinette Fage Corporation of
Rehabilitation Services to meet this need. This
centre provides physio and occupational therapy,
speech therapy, psychological counseling and
other health services for the whole
neighborhood.
With
the funding received from misean cara, 40 women
with disabilities or mothers of children with
disabilities were given personal and specific
skills and training in handcrafts, jewellery
making, dressmaking, computer skills and
carpentry, for the purpose of income generation.
The education and organisation of these women in
productive projects allows them to generate some
economic resources for themselves, and look
forward to a better life. It has helped them
reintegrate socially into the community from
which they were excluded. It has also helped to
restore their self-esteem and cement the family
unit.
One of the participants included Raymundo, a
young man with damaged hearing who sat at home
all day. He was trained to set up a market
garden on the roof of his house where he grows
vegetables and raises chickens. This has made
him economically independent, raised his
self-esteem and given him a purpose in life.