name: Handicap International
text: Handicap International is an international non-governmental organisation which works to improve the conditions and quality of life of disabled people in the developing world and in post-conflict zones.
  
  They work with local partners to deliver programmes in over 55 countries in the south and have sections in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and France. Their work includes emergency relief in times of disasters and conflict as well as longer term development support. In 1997, Handicap International was a co-winner of the Nobel Peace prize for our work to ban landmines.
  
  Examples of their current work include:
  
  * Providing respiratory physiotherapists to support people who had inhaled sea water during the Asian Tsunami, and a fully equipped boat was sent to support communities in inaccessible coastal areas. 
  * Setting up a Centre for Street Children in Sierra Leone to provide psycho-social support to former child soldiers. 
  * Supporting disabled peopleâ€™s organisations through small grants, information, training and technical advice in Bosnia and across the Balkans. 
  * Removing unexploded landmines and cluster bombs following conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and elsewhere, and spreading awareness among local people on how to recognise and avoid the threats they pose.
  
  In the UK, they are a partner in <I>Source</I>, an electronic resource that provides access to community-based and unpublished resources on health and disability issues. They are also active in raising awareness in the UK about the effects of cluster bombs on civilian populations.
  
  Handicap International UK has its roots in a French NGO. Handicap International is actually a French name which happens to read across into English. The word â€˜disabilityâ€™ does not exist in French, and â€˜handicapsâ€™ are considered by Handicap International to mean the barriers which lead to a disabled person being excluded from physical, social, economic and political life. 
  
  Handicap International seeks to prevent and remove these barriers, or handicaps.
  Handicap International's programmes and activities are grounded in a rights-based approach. 
  
  Handicap International takes an individualâ€™s human rights as the starting point to addressing the barriers which face them.  They are a â€˜solidarity organisationâ€™ (supporting disabled people without being an organisation of disabled people). They believe in a twin track approach to development and disability (supporting the inclusion of disabled people in mainstream services as well as supporting self-advocacy organisations).
  
  http://www.handicap-international.org/