“So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” – Romans 12:5
Living with the double disadvantage of poverty and disability, Khamkeng from Laos has had many difficulties accessing healthcare due to the expense of travel costs and the distance of the nearest healthcare center. In his small town, he was mainly treated with traditional medicine which was available in the community.
Having completed a vocational training course, he could not continue with higher education due to the poverty of his family and physical barriers. Having no job or income, he was still very happy to volunteer at a self-help group called “Group of Ethnic” engaged in handicraft production activities.
Khamkeng experienced loneliness and discrimination, but he is so thankful to be part of a CBID project where he received training in disability inclusive development, safeguarding and project management. He had the opportunity to meet with more people living with disabilities in the community and sharing the experiences about barriers faced. He gained great knowledge from the project, giving him more confidence in lobbying for the rights of persons with disabilities with the government at various levels.
He began to enjoy living in the community, but more importantly he felt more physically and mentally stronger than ever before. People in the community accepted his ability and respected his dignity. He is proud to be independent and can give some support to his family.
He is so grateful and appreciative to cbm for this project and he wants to see many more people living with disabilities and those marginalized groups in the community receiving similar support like he did.
