This study aims at an overview of the legal system in supporting for livelihoods of PWDs and feedbacks of DPOs in accessibility to it in practical context as well as their ways to mobilize other different resources. The results are drawn from secondary researches and a primary research through in-depth exploratory interviews of seven DPOs.
HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ PHÁT TRIỂN HÒA NHẬP XÃ HỘI DỰA VÀO CỘNG ĐỒNG: CƠ HỘI VÀ THÁCH THỨC ACCESSIBILITY TO POLICIES AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION OF ORGANIZATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN VIETNAM Le Thi Nhung* Bui Thi Xuan Mai ** Abstract Sustainable livelihood is concerned as the key component to empower people with disabilities (PWDs) towards an inclusive society A wide range of laws, policies and programs have been carried out by both Vietnam’s government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), particularly Organizations for People with Disabilities (DPOs) in order to better the livelihood of PWDs Ironically, both PWDs and DPOs are facing lots of challenges in utilizing the state’s policies and programs, and they are mobilizing community’s resources as an alternative This study aims at an overview of the legal system in supporting for livelihoods of PWDs and feedbacks of DPOs in accessibility to it in practical context as well as their ways to mobilize other different resources The results are drawn from secondary researches and a primary research through in-depth exploratory interviews of seven DPOs Keywords: livelihoods, persons with disabilities, organizations for persons with disabilities, community resources, policies, programs Introduction Among 7.2 million of PWDs1 accounted for 7.8% of the total Vietnam’s population, there are 2.63 million of employees with disabilities- LWDs (5.3% of the total labor force) (Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs- MOLISA, 2016) There is a low rate of employment participation of PWDs by 44.7% (Institute of Social Sciences & Haans Seidel Foundation, 2015) meanwhile unemployment rates of persons with disabilities on average and persons with severe disabilities are respectively high at 20% and 95% (Nam T., 2015) This tendency occurs in both urban and rural areas remarkably three times higher (4.3% vs 14%) than that in cities and metropolitan areas compared with non-disabled persons (ILO, 2013) Employment of PWDs is disputably unsustainable and risky, with only 14.3% of wage employees as equal to half of non-disabled persons Among them, the proportion of PWDs having a job in governmental agencies stands at 4.7%, much less than those working in informal ownaccount and family- account economic patterns or private sectors with 92.5% (Institute of Social Sciences & Haans Seidel Foundation, 2015) This implies to a higher risk of PWDs coping with hazardous and low paid conditions when getting informal jobs Meanwhile, according to the research on Economic Costs of Living with Disabilities and Stigmatization in 08 Vietnam’s provinces, about half of PWDs have monthly wages of less than 1.25 million VND (equivalent to 55 USD/month) (Institute of Social Development Studies & et.al, 2013) Besides, the occupational * ** 24 PhD Candidate of Social Work, University of Labour and Social Affairs II Assoc Prof.Dr Vice president of Scientific and Academic Committee, University of Labour and Social Affairs II PWDs from five years old above ISBN: 978-604-73-5599-0 Le Thi Nhung – Bui Thi Xuan Mai structure of PWDs maintains traditional and unstable The results of the survey on Working Areas of PWDs in 11 provinces (2008) drew on major sectors contributed by agriculture (41.1%), trade and services (28.9%), small manufacture and handicraft (06%) and the rest about 24% having different, unstable or non-specific jobs It is undeniable that PWDs in Vietnam have been enduring difficult livelihoods due to improperly- applied legal system, disadvantaging social environment and their own limited capacity They have poor living conditions, low educational background, lack of capital and resources for production, low entrepreneurship and income generation As estimated, nearly a half (49.4%) are the members of poor or relatively poor households Many of their loans turn out to be doubtful and bad debts Meanwhile, most of them cannot cover their daily living as 82.2% can only meet some certain basic conditions and accommodation Thus, it is proven that 80% of PWDs in urban areas and 70% in rural areas are dependently living on their families, relatives and social welfare (Institute of Social Sciences & Haans Seidel Foundation, 2015) Empirical evidence also shows that PWDs living in poverty have been always suffered from double disadvantages resulting in a higher risk of becoming even poorer (UNDP India, 2012) Both international conventions and commitments and Vietnam’s legal documents are made in order to ensure that PWDs have the same rights and obligations as other citizens accessing to a social security net as a minimum commitment of an enabling environment towards an inclusive society (United Nations, 1994, Vietnam’s National Assembly, 2010&2013) However, it is arguable that there are significant gaps between policies and policy implementation In other words, effectiveness and efficacy of national policies and schemes remains questionable At the same time, organizations for persons with disabilities (DPOs) take different roles as both a gap-filler and developmental actor through service delivery, pilot practice, documentation, capacity building, advocacy for change and policies as well as raising awareness (Nhung, 2017) They are promoting development of skills of PWDs in negotiation process, organizational abilities, mutual support, information sharing and often vocational skills and opportunities In view of their vital importance in the process of participation, it is imperative that their development be encouraged (United Nations, 1982) Nevertheless, in a practical context, DPOs who are representing for PWDs are struggling in making use of government’s policies and programs Therefore, this paper aims at reviewing major State’s legal documents and livelihood schemes for PWDs as well as reflecting current situations of DPOs in policy and program accessibility and how they are mobilizing resources to help PWDs Methodology This paper was undertaken with a desk review of the constitution, laws, policies, schemes and programs More importantly, in-depth interviews with 07 Disabled People's Organizations was carried out for their feedbacks on policies - and how they were implemented in local context The interviews were conducted through face to face meetings or telephone calls for 20-30 minutes For preparation, a questionnaire with 04 guiding questions was sent to several DPOs as their requests During the interviews, more specific questions were given based on how the respondents 25 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ PHÁT TRIỂN HÒA NHẬP XÃ HỘI DỰA VÀO CỘNG ĐỒNG: CƠ HỘI VÀ THÁCH THỨC participated for further exploration and clarification Recording with their consent was used to get full and accurate responses, and after that the qualitative data was analyzed and coded In a purpose of higher validity of a qualitative study with a small-sized sample, the invited representative respondents included 05 leaders and founders of DPOs and 02 livelihood program officers Also, DPOs were selected to cover a variety of forms, such as quasi-governmental agency, international organization, and local non-governmental organization with and without legal status Furthermore, secondary data (reports, articles, online resources etc.) were cited to strengthen the findings Key profiles of respondent DPOs The seven respondent DPOs include 02 quasi- governmental agencies- QGA, 01 international non-governmental organization- INGO, 02 local non-governmental organizations with legal statusRLNGO and 02 local non-governmental organizations without legal status- ULNGO Among those organizations, there are five DPOs in HCMC, one in Ben Tre province and one INGO having project site in Dong Nai province The DPOs are coded and identified with the following profiles in terms of legal status, time of operation and services: Code Type Brief description of programs/ services QGA1 19 years Social Protection Center Providing 20 vocational training programs, creating jobs (belonging to HCMC Department and operating as a job platform of Labour-Invalids & Social Affairs) QGA2 19 years Association of PWDs and Children Protection (established by HCMC People’s Committee) Providing scholarships, vocational training, assistive devices, health care services, sheltering, creating jobs and microcredit program INGO 28 years An international, independent and impartial organization Consolidating national methods, strategies and services in the field of health and rehabilitation, social and economic inclusion for PWDs, and human rights in the partnership with Vietnamese authorities RLNGO1 12 years A non-profit center licensed by Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations Developing PWDs’ capacity (social inclusion, accessibility and connection, learning and employment services), raising awareness and getting involved of the public and promoting advocacy RLNGO2 17 years A shelter (non-governmental social protection center) founded by a person with visual impairment, licensed by District People’s Committee Providing scholarships, short-term sheltering (for 30 children with visual impairment), vocational training (music, massage), basic education (Informatic Technology, Sports, Braille), printing Braille books for sale, selling walking sticks and interpreting services ULNGO1 A youth led creative group with self-financing and non-profit model 09 years Training for people with visual impairment in orienting and movement, giving sticks and advocating for pavement and sound signs, marketing to export embroidery and paintings of girls with visual impairments 26 Le Thi Nhung – Bui Thi Xuan Mai ISBN: 978-604-73-5599-0 ULNGO2 A newly-founded group by a former teacher in a specialized 01 year school for young disabled people (YWD) Improving their education and joining recreational, social, livelihood activities based on their family participation in self-help group (serving for 10 YWDs at present) Findings 4.1 Legal framework on livelihoods of persons with disabilities In policy designation, there is a wide range of legal documents at various levels of Vietnam’s government which creates the premise of bettering livelihoods of PWDs Table - Legal framework on livelihoods of people with disabilities Document Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam2 Promulgator National Assembly Articles related to livelihood of PWDs Article 59 enshrines the protection of PWDs (social welfare, social security, and assisting policy) (2013) Law on Persons with Disabilities3 (No.51/2010/QH12) National Assembly (2010) Chapter V (Article 33- 35): Employment for PWDs and policies for manufactures and enterprises having disabled workers; Chapter VII (Article 39- 43): Apartment, public building, transport, informatics technology & media Decree No.28/2012/ND-CP on Implementation Guidelines Law on Persons with Disabilities Government (2012) Chapter II (Article to 10): giving support and favorable conditions to own-account and family account employment, production and business establishments using 30% LWDs or enterprises/corporates recruiting over 10 PWDs Labour Code (2012) National Assembly (2012) Section III contains regulations on the employment of PWDs Law on Vocational Education4 No 74/2014/QH13 National Assembly (2014) Article 6, Article 18, Article 27, Article 51, Article 58, Article 62 Decision No.1019/QD-TTg Government approving the National Action (2012) Plan of Supporting People with Disabilities for 2012-2020 Providing vocational training and suitable jobs to 250,000 working-age PWDs through accessibility to public buildings, transportation, early intervention, inclusive education, medical services and legal services Based on the Constitution (1992) and Amended Constitution (2001) Upgraded from the Ordinance No 06/1998/PL-UBTVQH10 about the handicaps issued by the Standing Committee of National Assembly Replaced for the Law No.76/2006/QH on vocational training issue by the National Assembly 27 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ PHÁT TRIỂN HÒA NHẬP XÃ HỘI DỰA VÀO CỘNG ĐỒNG: CƠ HỘI VÀ THÁCH THỨC Decree No 61/2015/ND-CP about Assisting Job Creation and National Employment Fund Government (2015) Article 23- Borrowers: Applying to the employers whose LWDs are accounted for over 30%; Article 24- Loan amount: 01 billion VND (about 44,000 USD) for each project and of 50 million VND (about 2,200 USD) for every job creation Document No.3930/LDTBXHTCDN about Vocational Training and Iob creation for PWDs MOLISA (2014) Requesting Provincial People’s Committee to monitor some key solutions in vocational training and job creation in order to implement the National Action Plan No.1019 QCVN 10:2014/BXD National Technical Regulation on Construction for Disabled Access to Buildings and Facilities5 Minister of ConstructionMOC (2014) National accessibility standards for construction of apartment, public buildings, stations, transportation infrastructure and urban facilities It can be seen that the legal framework is more and more systematic and sufficient in order to ensure employment rights of PWDs for sustainable livelihoods The Constitutions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1992, 2001 and updated version in 2013 help legalization of rights of PWDs Other important regulations, namely the Labour Code (2012, Article 12) and Decree No.28/2012/ND-CP (Article 05) encourage employers to hire a more intensive quantity of LWDs as well as create jobs for PWDs At the same time, the Law on Disability in 2010 (Chapter V) specifies vocational training and employment, and the Law on Vocational Education in 2014 (Article 06) gives preferential treatment and the National Action Plan (2012-2020) creating opportunities of job training and job creation targeted to 250,000 PWDs in working age Besides, the Government has taken different measures in finance and job networking, such as the national employment fund, job fairs with prioritized booths in order to connect between PWDs and employers since 2006 Another advantage is a legal mechanism working out this system, MOLISA has the political mandate to address issues on PWDs, responsible for coordinating the implementation of disability legislation Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Transportation get involved in coordination The People’ committees at provincial, district and commune levels play the role as the most direct implementers of all disability-related policies Accordingly, how can DPOs benefit from the legal system? Vocational training schools of PWDs are given priority to favorable locations, financial support in providing free training, tax exemption and loans at preferential interest rates For other institutes with training programs with 30% of PWDs’ enrollment, priority is given to investment and guaranteed funding in certain proposals Secondly, DPOs get better staff when their teachers and trainers could have some benefits in terms of capacity building and higher allowance (plus 70% of minimum wage) Indirectly, DPOs potentially have favorable conditions to run their services for disabled clients thanks to their eligibilities in scholarships, free or discounted tuition, assistive device and social allowance based on levels of disabilities and inability to work 28 Replaced for QCXDVN 01: 2002 about the Barrier-Free Access Code & Standards Le Thi Nhung – Bui Thi Xuan Mai ISBN: 978-604-73-5599-0 4.2 Feedbacks of DPOs in accessibility to government’s policies and programs Benefits from government’s policies and programs As the results of in-depth interviews, there are remarkably some positive feedbacks from the DPOs when being asked what are the good points of current legal framework (see Table 2) Table - Benefits from government’s policies and programs No Factors Positive feedbacks Respondents Legislation Having a large amount of important legal documents at a wide range of enforcement for a general legal framework QGA1, QGA2, INGO, RLNGO1, RLNGO2, ULNGO1 Social protection schemes Meeting needs of certain groups of certified PWDs QGA1, QGA2, RLNGO2 Financial support and resource investment to DPOs Giving some basic support of salaries for certain numbers of staff, certain cost of infrastructure, bills of renting house, electrics, water, stationery, etc QGA1, QGA2 Financial services N/A6 Self- employed or ownaccount program N/A Skills development to DPOs and PWDs Giving funds to some mainstream vocational training programs & basic education to PWDs; Inviting the staff of DPOs for capacity training or regular meetings QGA1, QGA2, INGO, RLNGO1, RLNGO2 Information guidance to DPOs and PWDs Giving the details in procedures; QGA1, QGA2, INGO, RLNGO1, RLNGO2 Coordination of governmental agencies Being supportive in networking; Being supportive (local officials) Having 01-02 focal officials joining the project/ in charge of follow up QGA1, QGA2, INGO It reveals that almost all DPOs approve current legal documents being sufficient as a legal premise of improving livelihoods of PWDs “It is relatively useful to create a framework MOLISA invited for consultation from different agencies in making policies quite often” (INGO) The government also targets at developing skills of PWDs through mainstream vocational training programs and involvement of the staff of DPOs in competency development on new policies, working skills with PWDs and evaluation or through consultation meetings Besides, several respondents DPOs gives good comments on coordination and information guidance of local officials Normally, in partnership projects between INGOs and local governments, there is a focal official who would work as a facilitator or part-time officer In turns, he/she is trained to get more understandings, skills and attitudinal values in working with their disabled citizens N/A: Not having comments 29 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ PHÁT TRIỂN HÒA NHẬP XÃ HỘI DỰA VÀO CỘNG ĐỒNG: CƠ HỘI VÀ THÁCH THỨC On a highlight, there is a tendency that the quasi-governmental agencies (QGA) have better feedbacks on the Government’s policies and programs in almost all factors It is explained that they are categorized as major and formal service providers of national mainstream policies and programs They enable to get support from the Government in terms of investment, operation costs, capacity building, etc Meanwhile, the unregistered NGOs (ULNGO1, ULNGO2) did not mention about any positive factors except for Factor no.1 Gaps of the Government’s legal system in livelihoods of PWDs As mentioned above, the State has paid much attention to promote livelihoods and selfemployment for PWDs, which have had certain impacts on positive changes on their lives However, both PWDs and DPOs are facing some critical difficulties and challenges (see Table 3) Table - Difficulties and challenges of DPOs inaccessing to Government’s policies and programs No Factors Legislation Social protection schemes Gaps/Challenges Respondents - Unspecified articles to different kinds of disabilities - RLNGO2, ULNGO2 - No compulsory in recruiting PWDs - QGA2 - Criteria of legal status of DPOs - ULNGO1, ULNGO2 - Barriers to getting certificate of disability QGA1, QGA2, RLNGO1, RLNGO2, ULNGO2 - Some types of disability have not been covered Financial support and resource investment to DPOs - Almost no financial support or funding; - RLNGO1, RLNGO2, ULNGO1, ULNGO2 - Low level of support - QGA1, QGA2 Financial services - Limited and strict criteria to access to loans of Vietnam Bank of Social Protection INGOs Self-employment programs - Barriers from financial services - Lack of outcome market INGOs, ULNGO1 Skills development - Simple, limited, unmet category of jobs - QGA1, QGA2, INGO, RLNGO2 - Lack of follow up stage after training - QGA1, INGO - Short-term courses but not lifelong learning - INGO Information guidance to DPOs and PWDs N/A Coordination of governmental agencies Unmatched programs for different authorized parties 30 INGO ISBN: 978-604-73-5599-0 Le Thi Nhung – Bui Thi Xuan Mai The most common gap of current legal systems is that its application could work with formal sectors but not to informal sectors In formal sectors, DPOs on one hand need to meet strict criteria, on the other hands, the national programs or schemes are prioritized to serve for the most vulnerable people, not to everyone at risks or those lacking identification It means having a certificate of disability is the first criteria for PWDs to get allowance, loans or benefits from social protection measures However, there are only 18.7% of PWDs7 implying that a majority could not access to formal programs of the Government On Vietnam’s legal base, types of disabilities are fixed to physical impairments, unaccounted by function performance or contextual factors compared to the standards of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Framework (ICF) As a result, some forms of disabilities are not recognized “Autism is not legalized as a type of disability We cannot help our young clients to get social assistance from the Government policies”, cited by the founder of ULNGO2 Besides, there is shortage of legal documents applied for specific types of disabilities Meanwhile, different PWDs have various needs which are served through specific programs or schemes The founder of RLNGO2 said: “When we contacted one of the leading quasigovernmental centers who have officially assigned to carry out the Government’s mainstream programs for vocation training or any help to people with visual impairment, there isn’t any availability.” This happens more often to ULNGO2 working with adolescences who have Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorder In another paper, it is demonstrated that accessing to social security policies such as social insurance; health insurance is very difficult because of no incentives for PWDs The figures reveal only 10.8% of PWDs participating in social insurance- SI (including 8.7% of compulsory SI and 2.1% of volunteer SI), which implying to the fact that nearly 90% of PWDs are not participating in any SI (Khang, 2016) In a strong linkage to strict criteria, financial support and resource investment to DPOs are differently distributed to forms of organizations Controversially, the interviews show that QGAs can get basic budgets and infrastructure investment whereas it is almost inaccessible to ULNGOs and even RLNGOs who they are more flexible to access to other community resources instead However, to the QGAs, “the amount of State’s budget or investment is somehow insufficient, only to keep maintaining status of operation but quite strict management and long procedure” Regarding to financial services, there are limited and strict conditions for both PWDs and DPOs to access to loans of Vietnam Bank of Social Protection Pursuant to the Decree No 61/2015/ND-CP, the DPOs must have security assets for loans with a value of over VND 50 million, and “the PWDs must have a competent family member/relative as a guarantor to get favorable loans”, the program coordinator of INGO explained Similarly, self-employment programs of the Government have some limited effectiveness Most of prioritized jobs are attached with small-sized production, such as animal and poultry raising (cows, chicken, pigs, etc), vegetable and fruit growing, traditional crafts and knitting garments However, “many programs get stuck after long time because PWDs could not find the Statistics of MOLISA 31 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ PHÁT TRIỂN HÒA NHẬP XÃ HỘI DỰA VÀO CỘNG ĐỒNG: CƠ HỘI VÀ THÁCH THỨC market.” (ULNGO1) Furthermore, there are rare possibilities for PWDs to get wage employment “In the former Order of PWDs in 1998, there was a compulsory quota for enterprises to recruit PWDs which has no longer been regulated in the new Law No.51/2010/QH12 on Persons with Disabilities” (QGA2), meanwhile there are seldomly enterprises with 30% of LWDs as an input to get support from the Government It is said that “there are some critical gaps between benefits on legal papers and what enterprises or DPOs can get in practical, local context.” (RLNGO2) In another important aspect, skills development of PWDs through basic education and vocational training are challenging There is an unmatched gap between prioritized training programs and demands of the market and PWDs themselves “Simple, limited, unmet category of jobs leads to limitation in the number of PWDs for new enrolment while there are remaining great demands on training.” (QGA1) It is blamed that specialized vocational schools for PWDs only focus on training process without following up stage Employment services lack of vocational counseling, workplace assistance, and updated businesses Meanwhile, “people tend to approach to skills development through short courses instead of a process of lifelong learning based on home, community and long- term facilitation” (INGO) 4.3 Community Resource Mobilization While there are great challenges and obstacles for DPOs to access the Government’s policies and programs, they are flexible in networking and mobilizing different community resources formally or informally The results from the interviews can be implied with some potential lessons as following: Accessing to formal non-governmental resources Formal non-governmental resources may come from the Embassies or Consulates, Foreign Developmental Agencies, International Organizations, foreign and local leading NGOs, corporates and so on It is revealed that all of the seven respondent DPOs get such funding It is more convenient for DPOs with legal status to access to foreign resources through their proposals while the unregistered DPOs take chances in local companies or enterprises, mostly for charity purposes For example, RLNGO1 and RLNGO2 are the two organizations owning their major services with financial support from different non-governmental agencies They call for funds from USAIDS, AusAids, Irish Aids, KOICA, Atlantic Philanthropies, Vietnam AmCham8 and nearby companies (Thanh Cong Textile Company or Binh Minh Plastic Company) It is crucial for DPOs to “actively access to get information and build up trustful relationships with donors They are willing to support if we match up with their priorities and criteria” (RLNGO2) Mobilizing informal community resources Resourceful informal support in the community, particularly at residential areas, can be take advantages as an effective home-based and community-based rehabilitation thanks to the traditional value of Vietnamese, “the leaves protect tattered ones” It may come from family on 32 A trading organization ISBN: 978-604-73-5599-0 Le Thi Nhung – Bui Thi Xuan Mai their own, their relatives, neighbors and unregistered NGOs as well as in-country and overseas individual donors As RLNGO1 and RLNGO2, such financial and material support contributed greatly for their annual costs Box 1- Family Club (ULNGO2) The family club including parents of six CWDs over 15 years old was founded one year ago when they had common expectations in their children’s independent living in Cu Chi District, HCMC In a purpose of getting first involved of the family members in inclusive development for CWDS, ULNGO2 facilitated them to join a competition of the Narrow Gap which gives fund for small community projects and won a prize of 50 million VND (about 2,200 USD) They used that amount to implement an orchid planting project in which they and their children worked together on a piece of land and with their own gardening tools After selling the orchid, they got money to hire a teacher for basic education times/week to their CWDs and now they will put more money to hire one more teacher At the same time, ULNGO1 get involved by a large number of volunteers who are devoted, intellectual and trained with more working skills with PWDs This organization also makes large network in Mekong Delta Areas as well as HCMC in order to get technical and financial support in developing entrepreneurships for rural people and PWDs Running income generating activities Income-generating activities are scaled at small sizes giving whether sole or supplementary source of income for PWDs and their families It is flexible to carry out the activities in full-time, part-time and/or seasons Usually, they are based on traditional know-hows, local resources and resident markets and normally have partly contribution to the informal economy (WHO, ILO & UNESCO, 2010) The Fund of Income Generating Entrepreneurship (QGA2), which was initially funded with 20,000 USD by a former Swiss teacher, has been running for five years as “an effective service” as the manager of QGA2 evaluated This amount has been circulated and divided into smaller loans for small businesses like selling lottery (01-02 million VND), opening a massage salon (05 million VND), running a wheelchair factory (10,000 USD), etc in a periodical payment from 01- 05 years Networking and building partnerships Network/partnership is essential for DPOs to make best use of existing resources and adapt their programmes They work together to provide mainstreaming opportunities, broader knowledge and skills, financial resources and a common voice to advocate the government in making or changing legislation and policies relating to PWDs It requires a great effort of building networking and being flexible to call for different participation For example, when RLNGO2 got a fund and technical support from Japan’s Association of the Persons with Visual Impairments, they carried out a training course in therapeutic massage; 33 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ PHÁT TRIỂN HÒA NHẬP XÃ HỘI DỰA VÀO CỘNG ĐỒNG: CƠ HỘI VÀ THÁCH THỨC however the certificates were not officially recognized Thus, RLNGO2 scaled up to the transitional vocational programs in cooperation with HCMC Medical University Hospital and HCMC Traditional Medicine Institute who are competent to provide official certificates Besides, RLNGO2 often does case reference to other DPOs, namely Nhat Hong Center or Sao Mai Center as well as HCMC Union of Protection for Persons with Disabilities and Orphans Applying case management with key stakeholder participation The results show that several DPOs, who have been operating based on international approaches or models, tend to apply case management with multi-sectoral key stakeholders to get more sustainable changes towards PWDs While their programmes may be different, there is a universal sequence of stages that help to guide their development The interviewed INGO makes a strong use of stakeholder’s mapping to follow case by case of PWDs through specific action plans before providing them loans or other support in the poultry and animal raising project Firstly, there is a community assessment on potential partners in three main sectors (local authority, private sectors and civil society organizations) ranging at four levels (district, province, national and international) The capacity and interest of each key stakeholder in terms of their influence and risks to the program are analyzed After that, an individual action plan of livelihood improvement come to mutual agreement with various stakeholders During the process, INGO involve different relevant agencies For instance, when doing need assessment, INGO contacts Women’s Union and Youth Union for getting the profiles of PWDs They get the assigned part-time officers of the local authority in the working team and call the Bank of Social Protection in helping their clients to access to favorable loans During the process, persons with mobility difficulties are referred to Vietnam National Association of Handicaps- VNAH to get the wheelchairs and other assistive devices They also work closely with Disability Research and Capacity Development- DRD for job advertisement, staff training and information sharing In a pilot program of Right- Based Model of Mentoring and Empowering YWDs, RLNGO1 implements case management of six steps (Recruitment- Need Assessment- Action PlanAppraisal- Supporting package- Follow up and Evaluation) At present, this model becomes popular as a new approach of improving livelihoods of vulnerable people Conclusion Vietnam’s government is taking much concerns and effort in improving livelihoods of PWDs through building up a legal framework This includes various measures and schemes in skills development, employment, financial services and social protection in order to ensure their rights Thanks to such measures, both DPOs and PWDs have got certain benefits However, it remains some significant gaps and challenges for them to access the Government’s policies and programs in terms of unsystematic local implementation, strict requirement, a limited category of jobs, nonspecific articles to different types of disabilities as well as a low level of support or inadequate number of prioritized beneficiaries 34 ISBN: 978-604-73-5599-0 Le Thi Nhung – Bui Thi Xuan Mai In this context, DPOs are proven to be flexible in having adaptability in finding other nongovernmental programs and community resources Internationally, it is suggested that communitybased sustainable livelihood model for PWDs is a comprehensive intervention strategy that helps them to have stable and appropriate livelihoods and access to social security services for social inclusion On the basis of the effective use of available resources of the locality, a number of modalities to support skills development and livelihood creation are being implemented on accounting of PWDs’ own conditions, abilities and participation Also, it requires efforts to build a supportive environment from family and community awareness to financial, legal, health and social security assistance References ILO (2013) Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vietnam Institute of Social Development Studies & et.al (2013) Economic Cost of Disability and Stigmatizations in Vietnam Hanoi: Labour Publishing House Institute of Social Sciences & Haans Seidel Foundation (2015) Social protection for labourers with disbilities in Vietnam Hanoi Khang, N (2016, 26) Finding Approach to Social Security of Persons with Disabilities Retrieved from: http://www.nhandan.com.vn/xahoi/bhxh-va-cuoc-song/item/30799302-tim-huong-tiep-can-ansinh-xa-hoi-doi-voi-nguoi-khuyet-tat.html Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs (2016, 12 29) The 2016 Review Conference and 2017 Mandate of the National Committee for Persons with Disabilities in Vietnam Retrieved from http://www.molisa.gov.vn/vi/Pages/chitiettin.aspx?IDNews=26029 Nam T (2015) Social Protection with Persons with Disabilities Magazine of Families and Children Retrieved from: http://m.giadinhvatreem.vn/xem-tin_an-sinh-xa-hoi-voi-nguoi-khuyettat_593_3941.html Retrieved from http://m.giadinhvatreem.vn/xem-tin_an-sinh-xa-hoi-voi-nguoikhuyet-tat_593_3941.html Nhung, L T (2017) The Role of Social Organizations in Case Management in Vietnam The Role of Social Organizations in Development of Social Work in Vietnam (p 63) HCMC: HCMC Club of Social Workers & Vietnam Association of Social Work & Vocational Training UN (1982, 12 3) World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons Retrieved from Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/world-programme-of-action-concerningdisabled-persons.html UNDP India (2012) Livelihood Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 10 UNFPA (2011) People with disabilities in Vietnam: Key findings form the 2009 Vietnam population and Housing Census 11 WHO, ILO & UNESCO (2010) Livelihood Component In Community Based Rehabilitation Guidelines (p 26) Hanoi: Publishing House of Labour & Social Affairs 35 ... years Training for people with visual impairment in orienting and movement, giving sticks and advocating for pavement and sound signs, marketing to export embroidery and paintings of girls with visual... knowledge and skills, financial resources and a common voice to advocate the government in making or changing legislation and policies relating to PWDs It requires a great effort of building networking... HCMC, one in Ben Tre province and one INGO having project site in Dong Nai province The DPOs are coded and identified with the following profiles in terms of legal status, time of operation and services: