Disabled Children in a Society at War

About this book

"This casebook analyses the lessons learned from a radical and ambitious project initiated by Oxfam at the height of the war in Bosnia." "Disabled children in Former Yugoslavia were traditionally cared for in centralised institutions run by State-paid 'defectologists'. When Oxfam assumed responsibility for one such centre in Tuzla, its emphasis evolved from the provision of clinical services to the integration of the children into the local community - an alternative approach now regarded in the area as a model for other programmes." "Rachel Hastie considers three major themes: Development in conflict: How is it possible to work on long-term social development projects in an unstable society? Disability in conflict: When war politicises disability, what is the effect on groups of disabled people with special and differing needs? The social model of disability in a post-communist society: What happens when the western European approach to disability, which depends on individuals and groups being free to campaign for their rights, is introduced into a State which is still in transition from the collectivist values of the Cold War?"--Jacket.