Disability self-help organizations in the developing world: a case study from Malaysia

Disability self-help organizations have emerged as an important element of response to the advancement of people with disabilities throughout the developing world in recent years. There are now self-help organizations in all regions of the developing world, their memberships are growing, and the scope of their activities is enlarging. This paper draws on field research in Malaysia to present an organization developed by and for people with physical disabilities as a case study of self-help action in the Southeast Asian region. This paper reviews the origins and growth of the organization, describes its current programme of activities, and offers comment about the nature and future of disability self-help in the region and its continued advancement in the developing world generally. A combination of internal factors that relate to organization and programming, and external political and social conditions is indicated as important.