December News from Bangladesh

CRP arranged free Cleft Lip, Palate surgery camp
Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) arranged a Cleft Lip and Palate surgery camp from 5th to 13th December, 2011. The surgery camp was sponsored by APL (Bangladesh) PVT. LTD. A 9-member team led by Dr. Edward Zebovitz, Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon, from Surgeons for Smiles, USA conducted 70 operations during the camp.Mr. Ranjit Kumar Biswas, NDC, Honorable Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare inaugurated the Cleft Lip and Palate surgery camp on 10th December, 2011 at CRP-Savar.

CRP’s Occupational Therapists joined 5th Asia Pacific Occupational Therapy Congress:
A team comprised of six occupational therapists from CRP joined the 5th Asia Pacific Occupational Therapy Congress (APOTC 2011) held from November 19th – 24th, 2011 in Thailand organized by the Occupational Therapy Association of Thailand and Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University. It focused on making occupational therapy best practice, effective and applicable to diverse cultural contexts with educational symposia and workshops.

CRP observed International Day of Persons with Disabilities:
As elsewhere in the world, CRP observed the “20th International Day of Persons with Disabilities:” on 3rd December, 2011. This year’s theme of the day was “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development”. To mark the day 350 of CRP’s patients, students and staff took part in a rally that started from CRP’s head office at Savar. The colourful rally was sponsored by Epyllion Group. The rally finally merged with other rallies, those brought out by different NGOs in Savar. Speakers addressing the rally urged everyone to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. They pledged to increase the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.