Disabilities – Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Because Who is Perfect? Get Closer. Beauty is in the Eye of the beholder

Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and to celebrate this day we bring forth the incredible work of Pro Infirmis a non-profit  organization which is the first dedicated organization to be a point of contact for bringing change and a bridge between disability and social integration.

Pro Infirmis is the largest professional organization for disabled people in Switzerland It is a registered charity based in Zurich. The organization is politically independent and denominationally neutral. Their Adult education assumes that people are capable and motivated throughout life, to develop in dealing with the social environment and learn and integrated normally within society parameters.

Their  collective members are usually organizations for the disabled, providing outpatient and individual services with trained professionals.

Their awareness campaigns are pungent and though awkward as they may seem, they  reveal the perspectives and vulnerabilities of those deemed by society as disabled.

In this video, Pro Infirmis conducts an experiment: there are only a few people who don`t have empathy with disabled people. Nevertheless, the passenger seat in the public bus next to Fabian  (the model Teddy bear here) often stays empty. Handicapped people are a regular part of our society.

Note about Disabilities

Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus, disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.

The social model of disability sees the issue of “disability” as a socially created problem and a matter of the full integration of individuals into society. In this model, disability is not an attribute of an individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence, the management of the problem requires social action and it is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life. The issue is both cultural and ideological, requiring individual, community, and large-scale social change. From this perspective, equal access for someone with an impairment/disability is a human rights issue of major concern. Medical humanities can bridge the gap between medical and social model of disability. This has been the wonderful work from Pro Infirmis.

Because Who is Perfect, Right?

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