Integration and empowering of disabled children into cultural educational activities
Blind girls have proved to be very talented plate spinners and singers
In 2006-07 MMCC implemented a project for and with disabled children, supported by the French Embassy’s Social Development Fund. The aims of the project were:

1) To fully integrate a number of disabled children into all activities in MMCC’s Children Culture House as well as MMCC’s children performances in schools in Kabul

2) To draw public attention to disabled children’s capacities and needs through performances and other public events and/or activities
 
Acrobatic can be done dispute any hearing, mental or physical disability
 
Through the activities carried out in the project MMCC has developed methods for working with and integrating disabled children to a number of activities such as circus, theater, singing, painting and acrobatic etc. The methods have proved effective in both integrating disabled children to participate on equal bases with not disabled children as well as for implementing creative and artistic activities in environments that only consist of disabled children.

Internally in MMCC the project has added a new and very positive dimension to all our activities by breaking down a large number of barriers in terms of what is possible and what is not possible for and with disabled children.

Based on the broad variety of activities carried out in the project, the most important lessons learned include:
- Disabled children – be it deaf, blind, physical or mental – are in general capable of participating in almost any kind of creative activity on equal bases with not-disabled children.
- Creative activities such as theater, singing, circus, acrobatic and painting are very useful tools for integrating disabled children on equal bases into groups of not-disabled children
- The disabled children’s interest for participating in the above mentioned kind of creative activities have proved to be overwhelming large and positive.
- The absolute main obstacle to limit disabled children’s access to physical and creative activities are the prejudices of adults who are the key figures in the children’s lives, such as teachers, trainers and parents etc.

Based on the project MMCC finds that there is a huge need of training of teachers, trainers and family members who have the daily contact with disabled children in order to break down barriers and create awareness of the disabled children’s capacities, potential for and benefit of participation in creative and physical activities. The methods developed through the project are now being utilized for conducting workshops for trainers and teachers in disability organizations.