A new project starts in Belarus by the Association for International Education and Exchange Dortmund (IBB) in collaboration with the “Aktion Mensch”: The opening conference “LEWO – Transfer and adaption into Russian” started on the 16th February 2009.

From the 16th until the 17th February 2009 participants from Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine were acquainted with the methods of LEWO and the transfer of LEWO elements into a Russian-speaking publication was prepared. From the outset it was designed that these methods are going to be tested with the help of German experts in practice later.

The abbreviation LEWO stands for “quality of life in residences for adults with mental disablement”. The term describes an instrument for quality management for working with disabled people in residences and assisted living.

The process of quality development runs continuously and accompanies the practical work. Basis for many facilities is the LEWO II material released in 2001. It pursues the goal to grant the supervision of residents in day cares and residential homes with qualitative high, revisable and international standards. Accommodative services, quality representatives and employees can use this instrument.

The publisher of the handbook and declared experts are Professor Norbert Schwarte of the Centre of Planning and Evaluation of Social Services at the university Siegen and Ralf Oberste-Ufer.

Expert trainings about the subjects: “daily residence” and “occupation or rather employments for disabled people” are offered by the IBB since the 17th March 2009.

Offers for residents of facilities of the handicapped aid are being developed. The projects aim at responsible people from ca. 25 Belorussian facilities. Tutors, executive employees and other interested persons obtain the opportunity to participate in the further education seminars. This project is supported by the Aktion Mensch.

The line up of subjects ranges from basic, judicial and ethical questions to the development of day structuring offers up to planning equipment and staff. Involved are again representatives of local organisations by parents BELAPTimi, representatives of the facility for the disabled of the “Gemeinde aller trauenden Freunde“ and the institute for continuing education IKP of the ministry for social protection.
 
The focus especially centres on using the IFC rules also in Belarus. The “International Classification of functioning, Disability and Health” (ICF) of the World Health Organization (WHO) serves as a unifying language to describe the functional status of health, of disability and of social impairment and relevant environmental factors of a person independent of countries or subjects. The use of ICF in Germany is regulated by the guide lines of

Services for medical rehabilitation of the Federal joint committee (G-BA) of 16 March, 2004.
Professor Dr. Gerd Grampp is a declared specialist especially in the field of ICF and will be the senior expert and speaker during the further education.

The opening conference on the 17th March served as an introduction into the subject and for the stabilisation of the further education group for the following seminars, which are running until the 31st December of 2009. The detailed conference programme will be released shortly.