By Mr. Shintaro NAKAMURA,
Former policy advisor to Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Lao PDR (JICA Long-term Expert)
Mr. Nakamura has just come back from Lao PDR this August after finishing a three-year contract with JICA.
He explained ten participants about his activities there which ranged from development of a long-term labour and social welfare plan to support for grass-root projects by young persons with disabilities.
His experiences in Lao PDR showed themthe importance of cooperative network between GO and selp-help organizations..
“Disability rights seminar and radio listening club” and “IT workshop for the visually impaired” were successfully done by persons with disabilities themselves under the cooperation of GO and international community.
Lecture material : Partnership of Government, International Community, NGOs and Persons with Disabilities in Developing Countries ～Experiences in Lao PDR
At the end Mr. Nakamura gave them the following key factors to implement projects successfully.
- Act as a team, not individually
- Initiatives from PWD
- Start with a small step
- Make use of your competitive advantage
- Aggressively seek information about support schemes of government, NGO and international community
- Find collaborators in the government
- Transparency and accountability
Not only his lecture but also his big smiles empowered ten participants.
