RYTHM Foundation (RF) recently collaborated with Women’s Development Center (WDC), a non-profit, Non-Governmental Organization in Kandy, Sri Lanka for a community development project. RF adopted their Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme for one year, where WDC will rehabilitate special needs children and prepare them for the real world. The CBR programme was introduced to address the issues faced by mothers of children with disabilities due to lack of knowledge, opportunity, awareness and social stigma. CBR tackles all forms of disability, ranging from physical disability to intellectual disabilities. These includes various special needs syndromes with particular focus on Autism. RYTHM Foundation will be supporting the CBR programme’s main objective, which is to successfully rehabilitate a person with disabilities into society, where the person is no longer seen as a burden, but as contributors to society and family. CBR program, with assistance from RYTHM Foundation, will holistically and inclusively cater to all ages, including early childhood development (0 – 5 years), integration to school aged children (5 – 16 years), pre-vocational training, vocational training, and skills development for future job prospects and overall social inclusion. The programme will also focus on educating parents of early intervention to maximize the child’s potential.
