VOICE GRANT PROJECTS
Writers' Workshop with Primary School Students (including children with disabilities) in Sayaboury
A 3-day workshop was held for 22 primary Grade 5 students in Sayaboury – including 3 children with disabilities. Using group writing games and individual activities, over 70 ideas for stories were developed by the children. Of these – 25 showed promise and were given back to the students for further revision as individual and in groups. Finally, 10 stories were selected for illustration, design and publication. These books, in Lao language, are available as supplementary readers for primary school children from Grades 3-5.
Research on Access to Services for Young People with Disabilities with Student Researchers in Vientiane
A group of 25 high school and university students (including 4 blind and 5 deaf young people) joined a series of workshops on how to carry out research – to collect and analyze information. A smaller group of these youth identified 4 research questions that they wanted to explore – and the research methods they would use to collect information. For each theme, data collection tools were prepared, information collected, interviews conducted, data analyzed and key findings identified. Video interviews and story-telling techniques are used to turn these processes and findings into clips for social media. Through awareness raising and collective advocacy, actions to improve the situation can be generated.
Four teams of young researchers were formed around the four themes:
i) Reading Preferences of Blind Children
ii) Improving Education for the Blind
iii) Inclusive Education for Disabled Children
iv) Perceptions on Employment Opportunities for Disabled
