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	OTI / Democratic Republic of Congo Home USAID in Democratic Republic of Congo USAID Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Bureau U.S. Embassy Radio Okapi video (English) Program Summary English version Version française Country Reports Select a report... December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002   Fact Sheets TAP 2005 Version française CFR 2005 Version française Success Stories Select a story... February 2006 February 2006 February 2006 November 2005 November 2005 October 2005 October 2005 October 2005 September 2005 September 2005 August 2005 August 2005 July 2005 July 2005 June 2005 June 2005 June 2005 May 2005 March 2005 January 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 September 2004 June 2004 April 2004
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USAID/OTI DROC Hot Topics

July 2005

Disabled Guaranteed Equal Opportunity in the Constitution
Parliament adopts constitutional and electoral law changes proposed by USAID grantee

The Synergie d'Education Communautaire et d'Appui (SE*CA) program promotes improved stability in war-affected areas by facilitating the reintegration of war-affected youths into their communities, and increasing local, regional and national understanding of issues that are key to the country's political transition.

To support these objectives, SE*CA uses three tools:

1. a Youth Education and Skills program to train war-affected youths in agriculture, civic education, health, conflict management, reconciliation, personal values, numeracy, and literacy;
2. a media program that supports access to information concerning issues key to the transition; and
3. an in-kind small-grants program that supports information dissemination projects and community-identified activities that are a priority for the economic, political, and/or social revitalization of the community.

Early 2005 was an exciting time during which Congolese citizens watched the creation of a Constitution that would establish a new government and new laws. Wanting to take advantage of this momentum, the Congolese organization Voice of the Disabled for Human Rights (VDHR), a USAID grantee, kicked off a campaign for the legal recognition of equal opportunity for the disabled and their right to participate in the public life of the country.

The disabled are a large part of the Congolese population, with some estimates of about 10 percent of 60 million people, many of whom have suffered the consequences of polio and war. When it heard of VDHR's campaign, USAID's Synergie d'Education Communautaire et d'Appui (SE*CA), implemented with Chemonics International, recognized that this was a valuable opportunity to ensure that disabled citizens had an active voice in the political transition process. The initiative also sent a strong message to other citizens that disabled Congolese wanted to have a voice in future elections.

The campaign included three one-hour talk shows on three television channels to gather public support for proposed laws to support the disabled. The campaign ended with the highly publicized submission of a VDHR document containing recommendations for the Constitution and electoral law to high-level government officials and Supreme Court representatives. VDHR's efforts were successful. The Parliament adopted the proposed changes supporting the disabled, and the Minister of Interior has now included a VDHR member to take part in the development of the national election plan.

For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C.: Galeeb Kachra, Program Manager, e-mail: gkachra@usaid.gov; telephone: (202) 712-1905