Study of Community Based Rehabilitation Models in Karnata State, India

Overview

The first goal of the project is to understand if participation in self help groups (SHGs) improve the economic and social status of people with disabilities. Secondly, it will help to determine the possibility of using SHGs as models for advocating for equal rights and social and economic inclusion of people with disabilities in developing countries.

The SHGs typically consist of between nine to 12 members and are organized primarily to support micro-credit systems for enabling access to financial resources needed for work and livelihood. The project's focus is to use SHGs as tools for institution building for people to enhance their social, economic and community inclusion.

This study evaluates the social, economic, and community integration impacts on people with disabilities who are participating in SHGs. It is being conducted in the rural areas of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India. Without intervention, the people in this study would likely live in difficult circumstances and struggle to get ahead.

Project Activities

The first part of this study surveyed 900 families of persons with disabilities, which included those who participated in SHGs and those who did not. This survey examined multi-dimensional poverty among the SHG participants and non-participants. The findings from the study were presented at the Human Development Capability Association conference in Athens, Greece.

The second part of the study was based on a qualitative approach where 16 focus groups were conducted to understand if SHGs can be used as models for community-based rehabilitation for persons with disabilities. These findings were presented at the HDCA conference in Washington, D.C.

Contact Information

Basvaraju Rajshekharamurthy
Role: Project Coordinator in India
Email: basavaraju@graam.org.in

Funding Agencies

The World Bank

Principal Investigator

Arun Karpur

Collaborating Partners

The Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (www.graam.org), which is a public policy research institute incubated in India’s leading non-governmental organization called the SVYM. Arun Karpur was one of the founding partners of this institute and serves as one of the technical advisors.