My Masters Course in Harvard
When I felt stagnated after working 14 years in ADD Bangladesh program, I was on the lookout for a course for rejuvenation, self development and to retrospect how the organization would run in my absence. I raised this issue to Jabu during his visit to Bangladesh in 2007; he instantly gave his consent to save a colleague and a disability activist from burning out.
What did I want to accomplish after the course? It is my life’s goal to work in the disability and development arena, where I am also a beneficiary of the changes. After the course, I wanted to provide better support to the disability movement in Bangladesh and beyond.
It was an excellent opportunity of my life to study in the world famous institution, John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and complete Masters in Public Administration (MPA) as a Mason Fellow. Kennedy School develops leaders for public purpose and social change.
I have taken courses based on my personal interest, matching the mission of my organization and the people I am committed to serve. I studied social entrepreneurship, strategic management of nonprofit organizations, leadership, organizing people for power and change, national and transnational civil society campaign, election campaign and running for office, media and internet for social change, and art of communication in the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters. Kennedy School is one of the apex centers for developing network with people of versatile backgrounds: world renowned faculties, political leaders, social entrepreneurs and change makers.
Another important event during my stay in the US was observing the American Presidential elections – how an African American became president of the United States by telling a story of self, mobilizing the community and promoting campaign for change. After this election, the ethnic minorities gave more emphasis to community mobilization. Organizing and internet became the panacea for winning elections. I learnt to say “Yes We Can”.
What should I do now? My personal reflection and immediate reaction is that if I had not done this course, as a leader, I would have perished soon – the course has given me confidence and courage. After coming back, I trained 40 disabled women councilors of National Council of Disabled Women for two days on Election Campaign, just before their election. It was a new experience for both the trainer and participants. I am planning to train at least 100 disabled leaders who will run for office in the local government elections of 2010. Political empowerment of disabled people is one of my areas of interest. I am consulting with DPOs to give new momentum to the national campaign of grassroots disability movement in the next year.
What I can do better in ADD in future:
a. I have an entrepreneurial knack and nature so I can support programs in new countries or new programs in the same country: I can change the global map of ADD by organizing disabled people in two-third of South and South East Asian countries in the next 5 years.

b. I sharpened my skills of organizing people and learned the concepts of social movement. I can assist ADD in building capacity of DPOs for transnational campaigns and international advocacy for social change using the media and social networks.
For example, violence against woman with disabilities is a common issue in most of the developing countries. I have seen disabled women are oppressed but organized in Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It may be the same in Africa or East Europe.

c. Marketing and negotiating with donors (but not writing proposals)
During my sabbatical I have withdrawn myself from the stage and observed the organization and the Bangladeshi disability landscape from the balcony. In my absence, ADD Bangladesh gained huge capacity to support the disability movement and run the organization. However, the disability sector needs support for consolidation and sustainable change in Bangladesh.
I am indeed grateful to my colleagues in Bangladesh and the UK for the smooth way they kept Bangladesh program running. I would like to thank Jabu, Emily, Sarah and also Chris Gillies who all took heartfelt initiatives for supporting me and creating a precedent for ADD in sending a Country Director to Harvard for a year. So I have lots to give back to this wonderful organization where I have worked all my adult life and which I belong to. From Harvard, I sent an email to Jill, the new CEO of ADD to work with her. Learning and leading are not only indispensible, they are continuous! I, therefore, recommend other colleagues and leaders to go for study in Harvard
Mosharraf Hossain
ADD Bangladesh

Obama raised half a billion dollars online. The Obama campaign had been successful to create a wide donor base with a small amount of contribution. 3 million donors made 6.5 million donations. The average online donation was $80.

Obama had 13 million e-addresses on his e-mail list. He has 5 million supporters in 15 online communities. More than 35,000 volunteers groups were created to work in the campaign. When people donate, they become engaged. They follow the progress and success of the candidate and become the part of the wider campaign.

The message of the campaign was also strong and appealing. Being inspired by the message, the same donors donated more than one time. Since Obama had less access to the big donors, he gave more emphasis on the number of donors and the cheapest way of fundraising. The online fundraising was effective that was very low cost and accessible to the million people.

“The technology now has made it a lot easier for everyday people to participate. It’s made it easier for campaigns, too. The technology allows us to build a platform and see if people come,” said Genachowski, Obama Campaign’s Chief Technology Adviser

The fundraising drive created huge supporters who became active in the campaign. The messages worked to influence both the voters and donors to work for the Obama. The voters became influenced by their neighbors who worked in the campaign. All wings of the campaign supported each other. The concerted effort of money, man and message created the path for Obama to walk to the White House where technology reduced the distance!

Mosharraf Hossain,
MC MPA 2009

Mosharraf HossainIn addition to overseeing the deployment of the observers with disabilities, I had the opportunity to join the Election Monitoring Working Group (EMWG), an alliance of 29 NGOs facilitated by The Asia Foundation. Having “a seat at their table” was the key to the inclusion of disability issues in the mainstream election process.

In this biggest alliance of domestic election monitoring NGOs, disability was recognized as an issue, and ADD was treated as an equal member. As the ADD Program Manager, I served on the EMWG Media subgroup, the Election Commission Subgroup, and the General Coordination subgroup. Along with other leaders of the alliance, I was able to take part in critical issues of election observation and was able to raise disability issues to the Election Commission, the media, and to other national and international forums. I also presided over meetings and press conferences of the EMWG alliance, and was invited to deliver the press statement on the EMWG findings on the 2001 election to the media. This final event was highly publicized by national print and television media.

By raising the issue of people with disability to the NGO alliance, the issue of disability became a concern to the alliance as a whole. For example, the standard election observation form used by all of the 149,000 domestic election observers of the NGO alliance included two questions pertaining to the electoral participation of people with disabilities. The same checklist was used by the Fair Election Monitoring Association, which deployed 80,000 domestic observers throughout the country.

Disability issues also received attention in the international arena. The National Democratic Institute (NDI), for example, included disability issues in the training manual it developed for use by party agents. They also invited me to participate and raise disability issues in a pre-election discussion meeting with a delegation from the Carter Center.

The ADD/IFES initiative in Bangladesh also looked beyond election observation. ADD was able to use its new status to promote greater participation of citizens with disabilities in the election. ADD published 50,000 posters to encourage people with disabilities to exercise their rights, and more importantly, the Bangladesh Election Commission distributed the posters to 30,000 polling centers all over the country. ADD also developed two TV spots with the Ministry of Social Welfare to raise awareness on the voting rights of citizens with disabilities. These public service announcements were telecast across four channels, reaching an estimated 39% of Bangladeshis age 15 and above.

Involvement in the project also gave ADD an opportunity to meet with the Election Commission. The Chief Election Commissioner reassured the Commission that special access would be provided to people with disabilities, i.e. placing them at the front of queues and following the Peoples Representative Ordinance of special access. As a result, both voters and observers with disabilities reported that they received tremendous support from the polling officers and law enforcement agencies in casting the vote and observing the election.

The participation of people with disabilities in the election created waves in the attitude of the society to break barriers. The disability community is now planning to raise its demands with the newly formed Parliament to establish their rights as equal citizens. This social and political action of the people hopefully will bring about the inclusion of disability in the mainstream, and people with disabilities will be liberated from injustice and prejudice at last.

Mosharraf Hossain has served as a Program Manager with Action on Disability and Development (ADD) in Bangladesh since 1994.

In the Bangladeshi village where I was born in the early 1960s, most people, even many health professionals, did not know about polio. At the age of three when I was affected by high fever, the village quack gave me an injection to reduce the temperature that he thought had been caused by malaria. The temperature waned – but so did the movement of my left leg from that day on. Having a baby with a disability led to increased tension and anxiety for my family. It posed an enormous question as to how this child could survive through life.

It was only when I took training on the causes of disability, at the age of 30, that I understood that I was affected by polio and the doctor had given me the wrong treatment. Polio is one of the major causes of disability in a community where poverty is high, health services are insufficient and information unavailable.

I also saw how people became affected by lathyrism – which paralyses the lower limbs – when they were forced to eat toxic pulses (locally known as khesari dal), during the famines of the mid-1970s. Women in rural areas do all the hard work at home but get the minimum of the household’s food at the end of the day. Their underweight babies are prone to disability. Poverty is the cause of much disability, and disability exacerbates poverty.

How many people in a society like Bangladesh know about the scientific causes of disability? For many Bangladeshis disability is the result of the sins of the parents and ancestors. Literature, drama and textbooks portraying people with disabilities reinforce the negative images of disability in society. The life of disabled people in the middle and upper classes is even more miserable, as they are kept hidden at home. Such isolation has its corresponding negative psychological impact. Social stigma excludes people with disabilities from having access to rights, respect and justice.

Upward struggle
But even a little stimulation and support has the capacity to change lives. While I was passing through childhood, members of my family used to say, ‘You can overcome your disability only if you excel in your studies at school’. Eventually I went on to gain my Masters in Economics. But children with disabilities in Bangladesh hardly have the opportunity to get enrolled in schools because the teachers are not trained, buildings are not accessible, and the attitude of society remains discriminatory.

Ten years ago, I met Shapla, a disabled girl who had dropped out of school after grade three. She was affected by polio, but she was even more affected by the ignorant attitude of society. Teasing and bullying by the other children in the village gradually led to her withdrawal and isolation. Nor did her parents see any benefits in encouraging her to pursue her education. After the parents and teachers received counselling, she was readmitted to school and is now in college.

In Bangladesh social institutions and government mechanisms further the process of discrimination and denial. After completing my degree, I applied for a job in the Bangladesh Civil Service but was refused although I fulfilled all the criteria. It is thought that there is no use in providing jobs to disabled people while there is huge unemployment among non-disabled people. I temporarily lost all my courage to survive when I found that the Government was not the defender but the violator of my right to work.

Disabled women face double discrimination. They often cannot get married or are divorced because of their disability. ‘My family was broken when my hand was broken,’ recounts Halima Begum. ‘My husband married another woman as I was unable to do all the housework.’ Disabled women face serious violence. Women with hearing loss and learning disability are often the victims of rape and murder.
Poverty is the cause of much disability, and disability exacerbates poverty

The pain of disabled adults and children from Darfur to Dublin, Dhaka to Darwin is the same. They are discriminated against by society and the state. This sense of discrimination brought about the solidarity and mobilization of disabled people in many parts of the world and gave them courage to bring changes in society. Even in Bangladesh the tide is turning.

Touching the glacier
Disabled people in Bangladesh are organizing to promote their social, economic and political rights for inclusion in society. Ten years ago, when I went to a village in the Kushtia district of Bangladesh, disabled people were kept hidden at home and it took blood, sweat and tears to organize them. Now there is a strong voice of disabled people that seeks to persuade the Government to fulfil our needs and rights. As social awareness increases, so do our confidence and negotiation skills.

Parliament has passed a disability law and the Government has focused on disability in its national poverty reduction strategies. The Government has also declared a one per cent quota for the employment of disabled people in the civil service.

After much campaigning, nearly 100 disabled candidates participated in local government elections; 16 were elected as representatives, including Halima Begum. They played an exemplary role as election observers in the parliamentary election of 2001. The ice has started to melt.

To be disabled is not what’s hard; it’s how society treats a disabled person that’s inhuman. The life of a disabled person is a panorama of discrimination and struggle. I can recall my days of crawling at home and not being welcomed in schools. To have a pair of crutches was the fulfilment of a dream. My family encouraged me to dream and I learned how to struggle in life. The incidents of discrimination steeled my resolve and gave me the direction that my life should take.

I have visited the Alps, I have roamed on the beaches of the Bay of Bengal, and I have touched the ice of a glacier. I also dream of flying from one planet to another. My crutches gave me mobility throughout my life. The tips, the ends of my crutches, protect me from slipping and falling down in the race of life. But I can’t run – not all people need to run and I don’t mind that I can’t. I feel wounded when the tips are torn, I get the same pain as when my toes are injured. I don’t get peace until they are repaired or replaced. The tips are my toes. The crutches are my legs. These are parts of my body and psychology. Why then differentiate me as a disabled person?

Mosharraf Hossain is a human rights activist working as Country Representative of Action on Disability and Development (www.add.org.uk) to promote the disability rights movement in Bangladesh.

http://www.newint.org/issue384/tips-toes.htm

By Mosharraf Hossain

According to UNESCO, only 2% of disabled children of the world have access to education. Disabled people do not have employment. They are often excluded from education, health services and employment because of the negative attitude of the society, inaccessible environment and lack of legislation.

In the developing world, education systems are not inclusive, the infrastructure is not accessible, teachers are not trained, and curriculums are not appropriate for the visual and hearing impaired children. The children with intellectual disability also face extreme difficulties. The host families do not think it is worthwhile to send disabled children into schools. For example, the Education of disabled children is not under the Ministry of Education in the country like Bangladesh. The Department of Social Service operates special schools in a few urban areas. Poor disabled children living in the remote rural areas can not even imagine going to school. Surely, if education is a universal right, then disabled children have equal right to be admitted into public schools.

I was born in a rural village of Bangladesh where 4 out of 100 children go to school. Being a disabled person I faced huge discrimination and negligence in the Bangladeshi society where social stigma is prominent. But my family taught me to understand that only education can help me to overcome all these barriers. I always studied in the mainstream education institutions. Now I am studying at Harvard University. It is education that has changed my life, so I strongly believe that education can change lives of other disabled people.

World leaders have set the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to halve the world’s poverty and ensure primary education for all children by 2015. But unfortunately disabled children are missing in the target of MDGs. 600 million people live in the world. World Bank estimates 80% of them are poorest of the poor. How can the world claim that all children should be enrolled into primary without including disabled people in the education system?

Last December, the UN General Assembly adopted a disability convention to protect the rights of disabled people and I feel proud that Bangladesh is one of the countries that ratified its enforcement. But the government did not take any action to bring education of disabled children under the ministry of education from the department of social service. On the other hand, the US government worked for the convention but did not ratify it, as it neglected to do for other human rights treaties as well.

On the October 31st and November 3rd, the member state parties are going to meet in New York at the UN headquarters to form expert committees to implement the convention. We disabled people are waiting with eager expectation for the UN Convention to change the culture of society and promote positive practices for our community. Will the state parties set MDGs (Minimum Disability Development Goals) for the uplifting of disabled people in the 21st century, when a disabled person will earn a minimum of $1 per day, a disabled child will be admitted into public schools and a disabled woman will get maternal and reproductive health care?

On International Disability Day 2006, Kofi Anan urged the world community to redouble development efforts for disabled people, as they are marginalized and lag behind in the race for development. Although there are some initiatives of special education, for disabled children, I think none of them are sufficient. It is already proved trough the research and practice that special education is ineffective, even when required, and it will take ages to change the policy and attitude for a successful inclusive education program. We have to start now to think of alternatives. MIT is working to produce $100 laptop and $10 mobile phones so that poor children have access to computers and internet to reduce the digital divide. But what about disabled children? How can we reach mass disabled children in the remote areas of any nation through internet and $100 laptop? We are now living in the age of information technology. Information and communication technology can redouble our action to reach more disabled people. We all need to work for universal education, education for all; ALL should include disabled children.