Our Disability Curriculum Project
"I have parents of children with disabilities who come to my school. We try for 1-2 weeks but I meet with the parents and we cry together because I have to turn them away because there is nothing I can do."
– School Principal, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Every person living with A Disability
deserves to live a full life
The Need
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There are an estimated 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide
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80% of people with disabilities live in developing countries
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Today, in the wake of the Khmer Rouge's brutal reign, approximately 1.6 million Cambodians (10% of the population) live with disabilities
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The typical top-down and short-term approach to aid for countries like Cambodia often means members of local communities are not given the agency to identify problems or be a part of sustainable solutions
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Development projects in Cambodia only rarely reach people with disabilities
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Primary and secondary school teachers are not yet sufficiently equipped with the knowledge and concept necessary to create inclusive classrooms
Our Vision and Process
DSI was founded in 2016 with the goal of responding to the immense unmet needs of people with disabilities in developing countries. Our work is guided by the vision of a world where these needs are met because every person with a disability receives adequate care and support from their local communities and is empowered to contribute to their society. Unlike many aid organizations based in the Western world, at DSI we put in-country partner organizations and disability professionals at the center of our work, from start to finish.