What drives the Liliane Foundation
The philosophy of the Liliane Foundation’s founder, Liliane Brekelmans remains its most important mission:
Every human being matters and must be able to live in human dignity. The Liliane Foundation wants children and adolescents with a disability to experience that they too are indispensable and that it is important for them to develop.
How many children does this affect?
Data from the World Bank and the World Health Organization, among others, indicate that 10% of the 6 billion people (1) who inhabit the world are disabled. Over 60% of these 600 to 650 million people even have a rather serious disability. The majority of them, an estimated 70%, live in the South, the economically poor countries that account for two thirds of the world. For children, this percentage is even higher: of the 40 million children with a serious to severe disability, over 85% lives in developing countries (2).
Causes and effects
Poverty is the main reason that countries in the South, have relatively more disabled children than wealthy countries. Poverty and disabilities form a vicious cycle: poverty increases the likelihood of disabilities and a disability increases the likelihood of poverty. Millions of poor families in Africa, Asia and Latin America live in miserable conditions in slums or in desolate, neglected areas (3). Lack of the right nutrition, proper hygiene and prenatal care makes the likelihood of a disabled child being born into these families increase significantly. Children born without a disability are likely to acquire one whilst growing up. By far the most important cause of this is malnutrition. Worldwide, 150 million children do not have enough to eat, or have a diet which is too unbalanced . Children who suffer from malnutrition (4) will not grow properly, have a lower resistance to illnesses and also lag in their mental development.
Apart from being more susceptible to illness, children from poor families often do not receive any medical attention when they become sick. Of the 11 million children who die before their fifth birthday, most succumb to curable diseases like measles, malaria and diarrhoea. Children who do survive these or other illnesses, like meningitis, tuberculosis or polio, are often left disabled by the disease. Other children become disabled as a result of accidents, caused by unsafe situations in their environment, or become direct or indirect victims of war. Good, preventive and universally accessible health care could prevent and even cure many disabilities or bring serious pain relief through rehabilitation. These paths, however, are blocked by poverty. The majority of disabled children in developing nations do not receive even the most basic form of rehabilitation. Parents lack the means, are ignorant about the options of rehabilitation or are unable to trust the capabilities of their disabled child.
In most cases, the fact that children and adolescents with a disability do not receive treatment or rehabilitation means that they are not capable of receiving an education. Less than 2% of children with a disability in developing countries attend school (5). The chances of a disabled child in a developing country ever escaping poverty are negligible.
Religion and culture
Apart from economic circumstances, religion and culture are determining factors for a disabled child’s chances. In many developing countries, a child with a disability is still seen as a curse or God’s punishment.
This can result in the child and his/her parents being shunned by their community. This completes the child’s isolation. The chance of balanced development is zero.
In some religions having to raise a disabled child is considered a divine task that the parents must accept.
This view can also stunt the child’s development. Finally, there are cultures which overprotect a child with a disability. In this situation, the child cannot develop either, because the trial and error element of a child discovering his/her own capabilities is missing.
Through its mediators and with great respect for other cultures and religions, the Liliane Foundation tries to communicate the fact that a disabled child is, above all, a child like any other. Children do not want to be marginalized, but rather wish to be involved; they need to be challenged and learn things in order to be as independent as possible. Rehabilitation is a big step towards fulfilling these needs.
The type of disability a child has does not affect whether he/she will receive help from the Liliane Foundation – neither does religion or sex. Each child with a disability is considered equal. This is not necessarily a given in some of the countries where we offer help; boys are often considered more important than girls and frequently one religion or race is considered superior to another. The Liliane Foundation requires its mediators to be aware of these issues and that they in turn set a good example by treating the children equally when helping them.
Rights
On November 20, 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This Convention states that all children have a right to equal opportunities, the right nutrition, safety and protection, acceptable housing and possibilities to play and be educated. This means that children with a disability, in principle, have the same fundamental rights as any other child. In a separate article the Convention states that they have a right to extra care and attention and, if necessary, special education. The Liliane Foundation endorses the rights of children and the special rights of disabled children. They are an important point of departure for providing aid.
No separate question
Both in the North and South, societies are structured by and for the dominant majority. The disabled are considered a separate group. If there is any attention paid to them at all, it is usually in the form of separate legislation. Separate policies often mean exclusion and segregation: one world for the ‘healthy’ people and one for the disabled. This prevents people from getting to know and appreciate each other, from learning to live together in one society which is accessible to everybody and where people with and without disabilities help each other progress in life.
The Liliane Foundation advocates inclusive policies. This means that the interests of disabled people are a natural and essential point of attention in every phase of policy concerning any area. It also means that people with a disability or their representatives should be included in the process (c.f. Nothing about us without us) (6).
Core values
The Liliane Foundation’s core values are respect, equality and involvement.
- The ‘State of the World Population 2004’ (World Population Foundation) estimates a world population of 6.4 billion for 2004 and expects it to rise to 8.9 billion in 2050. However, in the 50 poorest countries the population will triple to 1.7 billion.
- These figures have been taken from ‘Development Cooperation and Disability’, a policy paper in favour of the European Disability Forum (2002). In comparison: Rehabilitation International, an international federation of organizations by and for people with a handicap, estimates the total number of handicapped children in need of rehabilitation at 1-1.5% of the world population (60-90 million); in the past, much higher figures have been mentioned.
- The ‘State of the World Population 2004’ (World Population Foundation): 2.8 billion people, two out of five, still live on less than 2 dollars a day.
- “Is it not an emergency that 150 million children are malnourished, often at a cost of mental and physical handicaps that can last a lifetime.”, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, address to UNICEF Executive Board, June 4, 2001.
- “Inclusive education and vocational training: approximately 98% of children with disabilities have no access to schools. Education, social integration and preparation for a productive life of youth with disabilities need priority attention.” (UNICEF).
Title of a book (1998) by David Werner.
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