AFTER years of championing rights of persons with disabilities, our greatest achievement is that of
signing a five-year Memorandum Of Understanding between Centre for Disability Development Research Law and Policy (CDDRLP and Cavendish University Zambia (CUZ) .
It has taken over seven meetings to discuss how best we can partner and contribute to the welfare of persons with disabilities but finally we agreed and sealed the partnership held at Cavendish University office on Tuesday.
This partnership will bring professionalism to disability administration, management and rehabilitation in Africa and the World over.
For the first time in history, CDDRLP in partnership with CUZ will host a joint post graduate Diploma training programme in Disability Administration, Management and Rehabilitation for 44 students from
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
This is a great achievement and good news because I know that after five years, we will see proper disability administration, management and rehabilitation as graduants will bring professionalism in the
administration.
As partners, we have designed a compacted six months Post Graduate Diploma course targeting leaders in disabled people’s organisations, Government workers in departments or agencies charged with responsibilities for the welfare of the disabled.
This programme also includes leaders of NGOs working with persons with disabilities and individuals working with disabled people within SADC.
This post graduate curriculum has been designed that prospective students will only attend residential school for 21 days starting on November, 1 to November 21, 2014 at Cavendish University Zambia but
students will continue to learn through distance and online for three months and finally do field practicum for three months before writing final examinations and graduate at a joint graduation ceremony to be held in Lusaka.
This postgraduate course is a specialized training which will prepare students working in institutions providing services to persons with disabilities and the roles in a variety of agencies providing services to disabled people.
Students will learn roles in agencies that include directors, managers, team leaders, disability focal point persons, developmental training coordinators, independent living coordinators, employment coordinators, rehabilitation coordinators and case managers, residential service directors and job coach supervisors.
An underlying premise of this programme is that the disadvantage typically experienced by disabled people reflects, primarily, the way society defines and responds to disability.
It is the oppressive structures of our society that create and sustain the marginal life circumstances that often characterise the lives of people with disabilities.
This training is designed to create an increased awareness of the socio-political context of disability and to enable students apply this perspective to the development of a wide range of skills in the areas noted above.
Core required courses cover a variety of topics including disability theory, policy, community building, advocacy, empowering practices, access and technology, leadership, research methods, ethics, and media representation.
Through electives, students pursue courses in such subjects as rehabilitation, disability management, human services management, crisis intervention, homelessness, ethnic diversity,
gender and sexuality and urban geography.
Since the focus of the programme is the social phenomenon of disablement, courses are not designed to provide in-depth information about the characteristics of specific impairments but focus on administration, management and rehabilitation which is a major concern.
THE COURSE
Quite often, there is inadequate attention to the problems with regards to issues in disability administration, management and rehabilitation in Africa more especially in the area of policy formulation, implementation and setting up sustainable rehabilitation services at Government and community level.
This course will empower students with practical skills for effective disability administration in their roles as service providers, analysts and policy makers.
An understanding of the structures and mechanisms of policy making will enhance the potential for civil society, public and private sector actors to be involved in the decision making processes and place disability issues at the centre stage of decisions and policy making.
Prospective students in the course will examine processes of public policy formulation and implementation from a public, private and civil society organisational perspective. Content coverage will focus on facilitating the creation of new knowledge and skills with a view to
developing informed policy for effective implementation of disability policies and law reviews.
The course will also look at strategies in aligning the UNCRPD to local and national laws as part of domestication for effectively policy influence that can change strategies that take into account policy making, organizational structures, political systems, leadership and cultural dynamics within
society.
COURSE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Prospective students who are motivated to play diverse leadership roles through informed policy design and analysis, policy implementation and evaluation aimed at achieving desired policy outcomes.
The aim of the course is to provide students with knowledge and skills in disability management, administration and rehabilitation and implementation processes to assist them to develop relevant rehabilitation programmes and promote mainstreaming of disability issues within national programmes. Prospective students will cover 14 courses to be facilitated over the period stated above and the areas to be covered include:
1.Theoretical perspectives and their application to disability social work
2. Introduction to Rehabilitation Services
3. Agency Administration and Management
4.Public Policy and team work in disability social work
5.Departmental disability policy and statistics6. Disability Politics and Theory
7.Management of Rehabilitation Programmes for the Disabled
8.Leadership in Disabled peoples Organisations
9.Career Planning in Rehabilitation Services
10.Rehabilitation Management and Administration
11. Strategies to align  UNCRPD to National  Laws
12. Rehabilitation, Diversity and Society
13. Process of Disability  Social Work  practice
14.Human Rights, social  policies and Law
The residential School will be held in, Lusaka, Zambia from Saturday to Friday November 1 to 12, 2014, and Student are expected to arrive in Zambia on Friday October 31, 2014.
Students who will successfully complete the course and pass the final examinations will receive a
Postgraduate Diploma in Disability Administration, Management and Rehabilitation from Cavendish University Zambia which is equivalent to Masters Degree.
Students who will fail the final examination will only qualify for a Certificate of Attendance from CDDRLP.
As a centre in partnership with Cavendish University Zambia will have assembled a team of world class trainers to be headed by professor Allen Lewis from CRC, University of Pittsburgh in United States of America and many other  as indicated below;
1. Mimi Getachew, PhD, CRC, Rutgers University, USA
2. Jenelle Pitt, PhD, CRC, California State University-Fresno, USA
3. Paola Premuda-Conti, PhD, CRC, Troy State University, USA
4. Allen Lewis, PhD, CRC, University of Pittsburgh, USA
5. Charles Mwape  PhD CDDRLP Johannesburg South Africa
6. Mr Alvin C.K Nchemba Cavendish University Zambia
7. Albert Tembo Cavendish University Zambia
As part of our contribution, we will sponsor about 44 qualifying students which is four students per country but we shall allow self sponsored and those to be sponsored by their Government from SADC and outside the region.
Sponsored students must ONLY come from the following countries Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Requirements for admission under this programmes is as follow:
1)  Possess an undergraduate degree;
2)  At least 2 years work experience in disability related institution(dealing with disability issues direct)
3) Currently be employed in an area where disability and advocacy is a core function;
4) Middle management ranking or higher;
5) English proficiency (as the course will be delivered in English);
6) Be from the SADC region for sponsored students
If you want more information about this course please contact us at Dr Charles Mwape Disability policy Analyst for Africa Centre for Disability Development Research, Law and Policy, Johannesburg.
Project Office, P.O. BOX 1981 New Castle, 2940 Republic of South Africa
Tell: +27343127894    Fax: +27343127894      Mobile: +27788839153
E-mail:   cm@cddrlp.net       Website:   www.cddrlp.net