Introduction

DRPI is a collaborative project working to establish a holistic and sustainable global system to monitor the human rights of people with disabilities. With the support of The Fédération Nationale des Personnes en Situation de Handicap (FENAPH), DRPI has successfully conducted the DRPI Africa Regional Workshop. Preparations, executions, and key information are found in the following lines.

Part 1: Preparation Phase

Identification of participants

We started by contacting the Representatives of National Unions/Federations of Persons with Disabilities to nominate three persons from their organizations. As the DRPI regional coordinator, I also contacted representatives of the participating country’s Human Rights Commissions to nominate a delegate.

1.2. Invited guests in the official opening

For the official opening, we invited a number of people who are influential  in the Rwanda Disability Movement. The following were invited (the list of who attended follows):

I. Government Officials

• Honorable Prime Minister (Rwanda)
• Honorable Minister of Local Government (MINALOC) (Rwanda)
• Minister of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) (Rwanda)

II. Members of Parliament

• Hon. Dr. James Ndahiro (Rwanda)
• Hon. Rwaka Pierre Claver (Rwanda)

III. UN Agencies

• Office of High Commissionner for Human Rights (Switzland)
• UN Rwanda Representative (Rwanda)

IV. Embassies/High Commissions

• Ambassador of Sweden in Rwanda (Rwanda)
• Canadian High Commission (Rwanda)
• Kenya High Commission (Rwanda)
• Uganda High Commission (Rwanda)
• South Africa High Commission (Rwanda)
• Tanzania High Commission (Rwanda)

V. Regional Human Rights Commissions

• Rwanda Human Rights Commission (Rwand)
• Uganda Human Rights Commission (Uganda)
• Tanzania Human Rights Commission (Tanzania)
• Kenya Human Rights Commission (Kenya)
• South Africa Human Rights Commission (South Africa)

1.3. Identification of Observers

In order to have a successful Regional workshop, DRPI International Coordinating Centre (ICC) advised me to invite Representatives of Regional Federations as observers.  We therefore contacted the following organizations  to attend the Workshop as observers:

• Panafrican Federation of the Disabled (PAFOD),
• Western Africa Federation of the Disabled (WAFOD),
• Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD),
• North Africa Federation of the Disabled (NAFOD),
• Eastern Africa Federation of the Disabled (EAFOD),
• University of the Western Cape/Centre for Disability Law and Policy (UWC/CDLP), Secretariat of Africa Decade on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Other observers invited included representatives from:

• International Disability Alliance (IDA),
• the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and
• the United Nation’s in Rwanda (UN Rwanda).

Part 2: The Workshop Itself

2.1. Official Opening Ceremonies

DRPI/Africa Regional Centre in Partnership with National Federation of Persons with Disabilities invited a number of guests to be part for the official opening of the Regional Seminar. Those dignitaries who where present at the openings  were as follows:

• Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamaliya,  Minister of Gender and Family Promotion who represented the  Honorable Prime Minister
• Mrs. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamaliya, Honorable the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion.
• Mr. Severin RWAMUCYO, President of FENAPH
• Professor Marcia Rioux. DRPI CO-Director

2.2. Trainers and Facilitators

The whole workshop period was facilitated by Professor Marcia Rioux, Director of DRPI. She was assisted by Chris Lytle, Teddy Kaberuka , Oswald Tuyizere and Paula Pinto (for the NVIVO training).  A number of other participants were also engaged in the facilitation during the week and certainly contributed to the successful and smooth running of the training.  This included in particular Lucyline Nkatha Murungi from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa and Mohamed El Khadiry from Morocco, who was representing the Northern Federation of Disabled (NAFOD).

2.3. Participants per country

I. International Disability Alliance (IDA)

• Moosa Salie (WNUSP),South Africa
• Sam Ntazinda Badege (NOUSPR – WNUSP affiliate in Rwanda), Rwanda

II. University of the Western (UWC)

• Lucyline Nkatha Murungi (Centre for Disability Law and Policy), Kenya

III. Africa Decade for Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Observer

• Roseweter Alice Mudarikwa (Secretariat of Africa Decade for People With Disabilities), South Africa

IV. Regional Federations – Participants

• Mohamed Abdellahi Fall (WAFOD), Mauritania
• Robert Mkozho (SAFOD), Zimbabwe
• Mohamed El Khadiry (NAFOD), Morocco
• Tambo Camara (PAFOD), Mauritania

V. Representatives of National Federations of 5 Countries – Participants

• Felician Mkude, Tanzania
• Magdalena Tiba Kaihuzi, Tanzania
• Amon Anastaz, Tanzania
• Daniel Mwesigwa Iga, Uganda
• Kinubi Francis, Uganda
• Esther Kyozira, Uganda
• Jayasselan Gopal Nair, South Africa
• Bongiwe Pretty Malope, South Africa
• Kirima Susan Kagwiria, Kenya
• Mercy Mugure Gichunge, Kenya
• Nancy Amwoso Aswani, Kenya
• Mukeha Charles, Rwanda
• Shyirambere Bruno, Rwanda
• Rwamucyo G. Severin, Rwanda

VI. Human Rights Commissions

• Loria Namuleme, Uganda
• Kennedy Oriko, Tanzania
• Marie Mukandutiye, Rwanda

2.4. Equipment and Material used:

The following equipment was used in order to render the workshop accessible.

• Laptop and projector (hired)
• Flipcharts with marker pens (bought)
• Facilitator manual (brought from Toronto)
• Participants manual (brought from Toronto)
• 7 materials in Braille, Grade I (brought from Toronto)
• NVIVO CDs and manual (brought from Toronto)

The DRPI international coordination centre provided the majority of training materials used. Other Braille copies were produced in Kigali. All materials were made available in either normal format, or in Braille, and every participant had had a copy of each module the co-trainers had a trainers manual.

2.5. Transportation

2.5.1. International participants

For the participants from abroad, air tickets were booked and arranged. Other expenses were reimbursed  to organizations after the Rwanda coordinator received travel receipts.

2.5.2. Local participants

In order to reduce the number of rooms for all participants, a decision was made to provide daily transportation allowances.  This was not the original plan and would be avoided in other circumstances and it meant the local participants were not  as integrated as other participants.

2.5.3. Daily operations

FENAPH lent to DRPI Africa Regional Centre a vehicle without a Driver.  There was a budget for fuel and the FENAPH vehicle was used and a driver hired for one month. This car was used in daily operations for the preparation and the execution of this regional workshop.   As the accommodation and the workshop were not in the same place, it was necessary to transport people between the two and also the workshop was not held in a location that was easily accessed within Kigali.

2.6. Sight Seeing Activities

On January 27th 2011, we made a tour starting from Nyanza Genocide Memorial Site. It is located near the training venue. The participants were given information about the way in which the genocide was organized, executed and how it left many consequences, especially many persons with different disabilities. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the National Genocide Museum as it is not accessible.  After, we toured Kigali City and Shopping Centres. Thereafter, we have visited one project called Mulindi Japan One Love Project, which repairs the prostheses and orthesis for the persons with disabilities in Kigali.

On Sunday, January 30th 2011, we visited the former president’s house, which has been transformed into a National Museum for Arts and a historic site. We then visited some handicraft shops, where participants were able to watch jewelry being made and also to see the local handicrafts of Rwanda.

2.7. Evening activities

The participants engaged in evening activities designed to enable the sharing of experiences. Groups were formed irrespective of country of origin to encourage inter-cultural sharing of experiences. After the evening sessions, they wrote and practiced human rights songs, which they later performed in the official closing ceremonies.

There was also a mock election held. This kind of election was to wake up the leaders on powers, how they must support the monitoring of the rights of persons with disabilities in their respective countries.

On January 29th 2011, we had a business meeting with the Heads of each Country Delegation as well as representatives of Regional Federations of the Persons with disabilities.  The purpose of this meeting was to do some planning:

• To identify participants in NVIVO Training
• To designate the leader of each country delegation for follow up
• To discuss the Country Monitoring Projects
• To set the criteria for the proposals for the Country Monitoring Project
• To discuss strategies of raising funds for other 4 countries

The following are the participants in that meeting:

• Amon Anastaz, Tanzania
• Kinubi Francis, Uganda
• Jayasselan Gopal Nair, South africa
• Teddy Kaberuka, Rwanda
• Tambo Camara, Mauritania
• Mohamed Fall, Mauritania
• Mohamed El Khadiry, Morocco
• Robert Mkozho, Zimbabwe

Note: Absent without apology: Kenya delegate

2.8. Workshop venue

The workshop was held at Nobleza Hotel, which is located in Kigali City, fifteen (15) minutes from the Kigali International Airport. All sessions were held in this Hotel, and at the evening, all international participants were transported by the hotel vehicles to the accommodation (Nobleza and Macadamia rooms).   The Nobleza Hotel and particularly the main seminar room used was not fully accessible but the hotel staff were very accommodating and built 2 ramps – one to the washrooms and one to the main seminar room – during the seminar.  On another occasion we would have to be careful to be sure both the workshop venue and the accommodation were fully accessible.

2.9. Accommodation

Initially, we booked all rooms in Macadamia for all 21 participants. Two days before the tenure of the workshop, we were informed that some of the rooms we had booked were occupied by players of National Team for two of the nights during our seminar. To address this we had to find other accommodation nearby the Nobleza Hotel. After two days, one participant Roseweter Alice Mudarikwa from Africa Decade complained that she was not comfortable with the room. She relocated to another room at Chez Lando Hotel, and the Secretariat of Africa Decade from South Africa agreed to pay all extra costs on the lodge.   There were a number of problems with accessibility of the room which had to be dealt with during the seminar and some shifting of rooms had to take place.  Therefore, the participants stayed in the rooms as follows:

• Nobleza Hotel : 12 participants
• Macadamia Hotel : 11 participants
• Chez Lando Hotel : 1 participant with her guide

2.10. Food

During the workshop period food was provided by the hotel Nobleza.  It consisted of breakfast, lunch and dinner and took into account the dietary restrictions that the participants had.  Breakfast usually consisted of eggs, fruit bread and coffee and lunch and dinner were more elaborate. There was coffee break and juice, soda and finger foods were available at those times

2.11. Workshop period

The workshop period started with the arrival of the first participants on January 21st 2011 and ended after the departure of the last participants on February 4th 2011, and all sessions were  held from approximately 09h00 a.m. to 05h00.

2.12. Training calendar

After being reviewed by the trainer and facilitators, the final training calendar was approved and printed in braille. During the three and a half hour session (03h40), the participants asked questions regarding this software and they were responded to successfully.

2.13. Language of Workshop Communication during the workshop

The communication language was English and sometimes French for some participants, who have French. We also hired an external sign language interpreter (from Uganda) to facilitate the easy communication between the persons with hearing impairments and others. The communication has gone beyond to the Braille documents. The Organizers have made available all necessary documents in Braille so that the persons with visual impairments may follow the workshop without any barrier.

2.14. Materials given to all participants at the end of the Workshop

All participants were given course materials used during the workshop. Each participant was given a compact disc (CD) on which we saved the following documents:

• DRPI generic outline of Country Monitoring Project
• Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights manual
• India and Kenya reports
• Facilitator guide,
• Participant guide (with notes from workshop included)
• Power point presentations Modules 1-5 including NVIVO Training
• Systemic Template in word and plain text format
• Update participant list
• African Regional Training Draft agenda

2.15. Final Declaration

In order to push Governments to sign, ratify and domesticate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the countries engaged in the regional seminar prepared a joint declaration to come from the meeting.

The declaration (attached) calls on the governments of the participating countries and African regions  to conduct holistic monitoring of the implementation of the CRPD in all African countries in order to realize the rights of persons with disabilities; and to provide source funding to facilitate similar holistic monitoring exercises in their jurisdictions. It was agreed that this document will be used as the advocacy tool for countries, DPOs, NGOs and individuals to spread the monitoring the human rights of persons with disabilities in Africa.

2.16. Success stories

During this workshop, there are many success stories that can be shared:

• The participants were able to form relationships with each other as a basis for further communication and monitoring and advocacy action.

• The staff at the hotel was trained on how to assist the persons with disabilities. The participants asked that there be a session for the staff as they were unfamiliar with persons with disabilities and had not received any prior training. We provided a half hour session to give some needed training for the staff in how to assist people with mobility impairment and who are blind and generally on serving persons with disabilities in general.  It would have been a benefit to do this work in preparation for the workshop and in advance of the participants arriving.

• The hotel did put in one permanent ramp in anticipation of the workshop. This means that, due to our advocacy, the hotel management made some places accessible for wheelchairs.  The other ramps they constructed were temporary and we can only hope they will also make those permanent.

• Participants in NVIVO training were able to have an E-learning system. They satisfactorily manifested their commitment to learn more about this software. It is very comprehensible one, and this will help to code information from country monitoring project.

2.17. Evaluation forms

Two types of evaluation for the workshop were used.  One was a confidential written form which included an evaluation of the quality of organization, execution, teaching methodology, hotel arrangements.  Everyone at the workshop filled out a form and the compilation of those evaluations is attached. In addition, an oral evaluation and general discussion about the workshop was held on the last day.

Conclusion

This workshop has a multi disability dimension; all types of disabilities were represented, and in addition, all countries were represented directly and indirectly.

We believe that, the contents of the modules and all arrangements were very useful to the trainees and organizers. The quality of the workshop was spread in the whole continent because all sub regions representatives were present.

We thank DRPI International Coordination Centre, which contributed technically and financially for the successful workshop.

Séverin G. Rwamucyo
President/Legal Representative
FENAPH