RWANDA, IS IT A SUCCESS STORY OR EXAGGERATED? DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

This study is a multi-level development history analysis of Rwanda, wherein “development” is defined in accordance with Amartya Sen’s holistic approach. It takes into account social, physical and economic variables, and considers how they impact individuals’ capacity to live freely. The objectives of the paper are: 1) to investigate how global, regional, national and local events have interplayed to shape the development process over time in Rwanda, 2) to discover Rwanda’s unique contribution to present day development discussions, and 3) to see how development should best proceed in Rwanda today. The study was quantitative in nature. Through a brief historical survey, six key turning points have been identified as critical to Rwanda’s development history: 1) the adoption of identity cards in 1926, 2) the Hutu Revolution of 1959, 3) independence from Belgium in 1962, 4) the coffee crisis of 1987-1989 and resultant SAPs, 5) the 1994 genocide, and 6) the new constitution in 2003. These turning points have helped us to understand Rwanda’s development in six areas more clearly. These areas are: economic considerations, agriculture and land scarcity, gender, education, good governance and the reconciliation process. We have chosen these areas over others due to their prominence in literature surrounding Rwandan development. Despite being portrayed as a success story, the developmental situation in Rwanda is falling short in some areas. The profound structural transformation, which needs to occur in both economic and societal terms, makes future development success uncertain

RWANDA, IS IT A SUCCESS STORY OR EXAGGERATED? DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

This study is a multi-level development history analysis of Rwanda, wherein “development” is defined in accordance with Amartya Sen’s holistic approach. It takes into account social, physical and economic variables, and considers how they impact individuals’ capacity to live freely. The objectives of the paper are: 1) to investigate how global, regional, national and local events have interplayed to shape the development process over time in Rwanda, 2) to discover Rwanda’s unique contribution to present day development discussions, and 3) to see how development should best proceed in Rwanda today. The study was quantitative in nature. Through a brief historical survey, six key turning points have been identified as critical to Rwanda’s development history: 1) the adoption of identity cards in 1926, 2) the Hutu Revolution of 1959, 3) independence from Belgium in 1962, 4) the coffee crisis of 1987-1989 and resultant SAPs, 5) the 1994 genocide, and 6) the new constitution in 2003. These turning points have helped us to understand Rwanda’s development in six areas more clearly. These areas are: economic considerations, agriculture and land scarcity, gender, education, good governance and the reconciliation process. We have chosen these areas over others due to their prominence in literature surrounding Rwandan development. Despite being portrayed as a success story, the developmental situation in Rwanda is falling short in some areas. The profound structural transformation, which needs to occur in both economic and societal terms, makes future development success uncertain

Challenges of the Elderly In Zambia. A Systematic Review Study

Aging is a phenomenon that is found worldwide. In developed countries, the elderly living conditions are better relative to their counterparts in developing countries. Zambia has a population of slightly over 500,000. A big number of these people reside in rural areas. The aim of this paper was to investigate the challenges experienced by the elderly in Zambia. This was a desk study that used both a quantitative and qualitative methods focusing on the analysis of available literature on aging in Zambia. The results revealed that households with old people are among the poorest in the country. The other challenge faced by the elderly especially in rural areas is social stigma arising from being suspected of practicing witchcraft. They are also left out of the HIV/AIDS statistics and programmes: Currently there seems to be no available HIV/AIDS statistics and programmes for the elderly people aged 65 years and above. Lack of family support and the burden of orphans. Most of the elderly are poor and cannot manage to support their grand children in terms of school, decent shelter, clothing and medical care

Building Bridges to Sustainable Employment (Staff & Employer Handbook / EMPLOY Project)

This handbook has been produced as part of an Erasmus + EU funded project entitled Enhancing the Employability of Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education (EMPLOY) - 2014-1-UKO1-KA203-001842. The handbook is aimed at: Employers in the private, public and third sectors as well as trade unions Higher education staff such as those working in careers, support services, officers, widening participation and equality issues and lecturers. The focus of the handbook is on a particular group of students – non-traditional students. By non-traditional we mean students and graduates who are from communities and groups who, in some way, are under-represented in university and often also face obstacles in the job market. This includes quite a diverse range of groups such as mature students, working class students, students from ethnic minorities and students with disabilities

Building Bridges to Sustainable Employment (Staff & Employer Handbook / EMPLOY Project)

This handbook has been produced as part of an Erasmus + EU funded project entitled Enhancing the Employability of Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education (EMPLOY) - 2014-1-UKO1-KA203-001842. The handbook is aimed at: Employers in the private, public and third sectors as well as trade unions Higher education staff such as those working in careers, support services, officers, widening participation and equality issues and lecturers. The focus of the handbook is on a particular group of students – non-traditional students. By non-traditional we mean students and graduates who are from communities and groups who, in some way, are under-represented in university and often also face obstacles in the job market. This includes quite a diverse range of groups such as mature students, working class students, students from ethnic minorities and students with disabilities

COVID-19 IDD: A global survey exploring the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers

Background: This protocol outlines research to explore the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Evidence suggests that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience disparities in healthcare access and utilisation. This disparity was evident early in the pandemic when discussions arose regarding the potential exclusion of this population to critical care. Methods: An anonymous online survey will be conducted with caregivers, both family members and paid staff, to explore the impact of COVID-19 on this population in terms of demographics, living arrangements, access to services, the impact of social distancing, and also carer wellbeing. The survey will be developed by the research team, many of whom are experts in intellectual disability within their own jurisdictions. Using back-translation our team will translate the survey for distribution in 16 countries worldwide for international comparison. The survey team have extensive personal and professional networks in intellectual disability and will promote the survey widely on social media with the support of local disability and advocacy agencies. Statistical descriptive and comparative analyses will be conducted. Ethical approval has been obtained for this study from University College Dublin’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HS-20-28-Linehan). Dissemination: Study findings will be prepared in a number of formats in order to meet the needs of different audiences. Outputs will include academic papers, lessons learned paper, practice guidelines, reports, infographics and video content. These outputs will be directed to families, frontline and management delivering disability services, national-level policy makers, healthcare quality and delivery authorities, national pandemic organisations and international bodies

Experiences of parenting children with disabilities in Zambia

This thesis sought to provide new insight into the lives and experiences of mothers of children with disabilities in the rural (Kaoma) and urban (Lusaka) settings of Zambia. A detailed literature review revealed that there is a dearth of research that has focused on the views of mothers parenting children with disabilities within the Zambian social and cultural context. Qualitative, biographical interviews were undertaken with thirty mothers whose child had a disability significant enough to qualify for intervention services at the time of the interviews. This study drew on a framework using insights from the social model of disability, feminist intersectionality and the social empowerment model. The methodology was informed by interpretivism, social constructionist grounded theory, feminist intersectionality theories, and data analysis was carried out concurrently with data collection. Findings revealed that disability is still surrounded by stigma and prejudice. It was associated with punishment and bad omen. The diagnosis of a child’s disability had an impact on mothers as it resulted in a liminal (suspended) state and a biographical disruption as they had to reorient their lives. Mother-blame was common and they were often ostracised by their significant others and the communities. Divorce was common especially among first-time mothers whose child had cerebral palsy. Divorce was an unexpected disruptive event that had socioeconomic impact on mothers. They had to bear the burden of caregiving in the absence of support from their partners. Some gave up their employment because of the demands associated with caregiving resulting in financial deprivation. Mothers also experienced loss of agency over their future and that of their child. More power was allotted to husbands than mothers with regard to decision making at home. The study makes a deeper, and more nuanced, contribution to the scarce literature on mothering children with disabilities in Zambia and globall

Experiences of parenting children with disabilities : a qualitative study on the perspectives of mothers of children with disabilities in Zambia

This thesis sought to provide new insight into the lives and experiences of mothers of children with disabilities in the rural (Kaoma) and urban (Lusaka) settings of Zambia. A detailed literature review revealed that there is a dearth of research that has focused on the views of mothers parenting children with disabilities within the Zambian social and cultural context. Qualitative, biographical interviews were undertaken with thirty mothers whose child had a disability significant enough to qualify for intervention services at the time of the interviews. This study drew on a framework using insights from the social model of disability, feminist intersectionality and the social empowerment model. The methodology was informed by interpretivism, social constructionist grounded theory, feminist intersectionality theories, and data analysis was carried out concurrently with data collection. Findings revealed that disability is still surrounded by stigma and prejudice. It was associated with punishment and bad omen. The diagnosis of a child’s disability had an impact on mothers as it resulted in a liminal (suspended) state and a biographical disruption as they had to reorient their lives. Mother-blame was common and they were often ostracised by their significant others and the communities. Divorce was common especially among first-time mothers whose child had cerebral palsy. Divorce was an unexpected disruptive event that had socioeconomic impact on mothers. They had to bear the burden of caregiving in the absence of support from their partners. Some gave up their employment because of the demands associated with caregiving resulting in financial deprivation. Mothers also experienced loss of agency over their future and that of their child. More power was allotted to husbands than mothers with regard to decision making at home. The study makes a deeper, and more nuanced, contribution to the scarce literature on mothering children with disabilities in Zambia and globally