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How to Help Survivors in Haiti
Jan 15, 2010
Please help survivors in Haiti by donating to International Medical Corps.

IMC’s work delivering primary care to earthquake survivors is especially important because they invest in capacity building of local doctors and medical personnel. As IMC puts it, “This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated communities to self-reliance.”

In 2008 Survivor Corps honored IMC doctors in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Niarchos Prize for Survivorship.
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Gulu Council Votes: Schools and Hospitals to be Accessible for Survivors with Disabilities in Northern Uganda
Dec 08, 2009
In a major victory for Survivor Corps and disability rights, the Gulu district and municipal councils in Northern Uganda have voted to make schools, hospitals and health centers accessible to people with disability.

If implemented, the decisions could improve the quality of life for thousands of Ugandans who suffered from the war in the north. They also mark a major success for Survivor Corps’ partner the Gulu Disabled Persons Union (GDPU), a network of advocates which has pressed the government to integrate disability into reconstruction plans.

The GDPU is supported by Survivor Corps, which opened a joint program in Uganda in the summer of 2008. John Francis Onyango, who coordinates the program for Survivor Corps, welcomed the decision by the two councils, “This is a major step forward for the way that Northern Uganda treats people with disabilities. Especially when you look at how children with disabilities are treated in this country, to have schools that are accessible can be the difference between a child begging on the streets and a child learning in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, in another sign of the growing power of the disability lobby in Uganda, five members of parliament who have formed a disability caucus announced on November 11 that they will push to incorporate the new UN Convention on disability rights into Ugandan law. The Convention significantly expands the definition of the rights of persons with disability.

The rebellion by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda caused massive displacement and left a terrible legacy of mutilation and disease. One local official in Gulu said that 14% of the population may suffer from a form of disability - significantly higher than other parts of the country. In most communities, however, disability is a cause of stigma and exclusion.

Responding to a request from GDPU, Survivor Corps has trained a GDPU assessment team, drafted accessibility bylaws, supplied IT equipment and sent two volunteers to help the GDPU with information dissemination. Earlier this year, the program organized a fundraiser which raised $3,000 from 12 Ugandan corporations.

Simon Ong'om, the GDPU chairman, says that Survivor Corps has given his group the profile and confidence to petition the Ugandan authorities and international agencies. At the GDPU's urging, he said, the World Food Program (WFP) has organized a separate distribution of emergency food aid for refugees with a disability and increased rations. The GDPU has also joined a key NGO disaster management committee in Gulu.

Going forward, the GDPU and Survivor Corps now plans to hold the two Gulu councils to their pledge and also exert pressure from the villages, by nominating at least 30 people with disabilities for local elections.
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Survivor Corps Launches Blog on Cartagena Summit
Nov 30, 2009
The blog, View from the Summit, covers breaking news and media on the Mine Ban Treaty Review Conference in Cartagena. The content includes videos, articles, images, and resources that highlight the treaty’s influence in Colombia and throughout the rest of the world.

The blog is an initiative of Survivor Corps, a leading advocate for the rights of conflict survivors. Created by landmine survivors, Survivor Corps believes those who have survived war are most invested in building peace.

To visit the blog, click here.
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Scott Quilty Responds to the Attack at Fort Hood
Nov 09, 2009
On Sunday, November 8, the Washington Post published the following op-ed by Scott Quilty, coordinator of the Campaign for Healthy Homecoming at Survivor Corps.

War is violent, of course. In Iraq's "triangle of death" in 2006, I stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost my arm and my leg. That kind of violence is easy for people to grasp. But how do families and our nation comprehend what happened at Fort Hood?

My wife, like me an Army captain, serves as an occupational therapist. Her job is to rehabilitate the injured, physically and mentally.

Friends ask me if I worry that she will deploy. I used to say, no, not at all. She's in the medical corps, it's an entirely different job. It's much safer.

But after the tragedy at Fort Hood, and the May shooting at the Baghdad combat stress unit, it's clear that no matter your role in the military, we all struggle with war's effects.

Lots of people confided in Dr. Hasan, and as a caregiver his job included the high doses of trauma which probably led him to a very dark place. He never went to Iraq, but the war came to him.

Photo by Kristen Holden
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Eighteen Years after War, Cambodian Citizens Still Struggle with Landmines
Oct 16, 2009
Next Friday marks the anniversary of the end of the Cambodian Civil War, which raged from 1979 – 1991. Eighteen years later, the effects of the war are still being felt. As one of the most mined countries in the world, Cambodia was one of the first to sign the Mine Ban Treaty on December 3, 1997, but large swathes of land remain heavily contaminated with mines. According to the Landmine Monitor's most recent report, 352 people were killed or injured by landmines in Cambodia in 2007.

Cameron Macauley, Health Education Specialist at Survivor Corps, has visited Cambodia many times and met with landmine survivors and activists. "One of the most interesting figures I met was Aki Ra, a former combatant and deminer. Aki Ra operates a Landmine Museum and Relief Center, displaying over 5,000 mines he disarmed himself.

Tired of waiting for the government to demine, citizens have taken it upon themselves to do it, and many have turned to Aki Ra to teach them how. I visited a new building near Phnom Penh that was being developed on land that had just recently been cleared by a private citizen. I'm impressed with the resourcefulness of these Cambodian citizen deminers, but this approach is extremely dangerous [49 civilian casualties resulted in 2007 while disarming or removing landmines]. Its very frustrating that the Cambodian government has not done more to demine in the 12 years since they signed the Mine Ban Treaty."

Watch Aki Ra disarm a landmine using a stick and a pocketknife, while demonstrating for a group of prospective young deminers.

From November 30th to December 4th, 2009, hundreds of international organizations will meet in Cartagena, Colombia to assess the impact of the Mine Ban Treaty, and the challenges many countries still face in fully implementing the treaty and demining contaminated land.

A team of Survivor Corps staff and partners will attend the Cartagena Summit to advocate for stronger government action to implement the treaty, including providing landmine survivors and their families with assistance to recover, realize their human rights and continue to be active members of their communities.

Meet the Survivor Corps Cartagena team and read the latest news and insights leading up to this historic event on the View from the Summit blog, hosted by Survivor Corps.
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