Development cooperation project in Nepal - socioeconomic support for people with disabilities

Physical barriers and stigmatisation exclude people with disabilities from economic, social and political life. A lack of education, poor job prospects and material deprivation are the main causes for the marginalisation of people with disabilities in Nepal.

ADRA Austria, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, in cooperation with ADRA India, is implementing a 1-year project in three cities in the Madhesh Province in the south of Nepal to improve the socioeconomic situation of people with disabilities in the long run.

The project aims to improve the life situation of 80 people with disabilities by providing them with vocational training to learn skills and set up small businesses. The vocational trainings are held in the fields of tailoring, arts and crafts, electrical installations, and the production of cans and tins. The training also covers business skills and cooperation. Participants receive the necessary equipment and work material to set up their own small businesses.

Nepal is located in the Himalayas, has an area of 148,000 square kilometres and a population of 30 million people. In general, the country has made great progress in fighting poverty but there is still marked inequality between different regions and population groups.