Seventy-two Uzbek children with disabilities will benefit from the newly opened Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) point, sponsored by World Vision. The CBR point will provide social, economic, legal, and psychological support to children with special needs and their families from 18 'mahallas' (traditional Uzbek neighborhoods) of the Yakkasaray district in Tashkent City to facilitate greater integration of the children in the society, reducing the likelihood of the children's placement in institutional care.

During the opening ceremony on 30 November, World Vision Uzbekistan distributed six wheelchairs and ten gift packages with school and art supplies to the children with special needs.

'We are very grateful for the wheelchair we got. Before I had a sense of hopelessness about my daughter's future, now I feel more assured,' said Muyassar Ergasheva, mother of six-year-old Laziza, who needed a wheelchair.

'We understand the difficult circumstances that children with disabilities face in life, but it is our duty to help them as much as we can. The opening of this Point is a unique event - one of its kind in the country - and we, the community will support it,' said District Governor Valijon Mullajonov.


A variety of specialists including teachers, psychologists and lawyers will provide consultations to children with special needs and their parents at the CBR Point. The center will also offer vocational training for youth and unemployed parents thus creating new opportunities for income generation. For this purpose, World Vision Uzbekistan donated five sewing machines to the CBR Point. World Vision Uzbekistan also helped establish a Community Based Coordination Group that is responsible for organizing and planning all activities undertaken at the CBR Point.

World Vision's Children in Crisis Rescue Project in Tashkent aims to prevent abandonment or institutionalization of children with disabilities in one district of Tashkent by channeling community based services to vulnerable families. Wheelchairs and sewing machines are received through World Vision Germany's Gift Catalogue.