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The Unifor Social Justice Fund has partnered with disability rights and development organization Handicap International to help survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh get rehabilitation support, as well as specialized medical services and devices.
On April 29, 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory building in Savar, Bangladesh collapsed during the workday, killing 1,129 people, with 2,438 people rescued alive and hundreds more unaccounted for. The majority of the victims were women, with 75 per cent under 28 years old.
Of the 499 survivors with disabilities, 109 moved back to their rural hometown, putting them out of reach of most rehabilitation and livelihood support centres.
Handicap International works alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions by making necessary changes, while promoting respect for their dignity and fundamental human rights.
Handicap International also works to build local disability networks and organizations so that services are sustained.
The group first worked to locate Rana Plaza survivors to assess their needs and map resources in the regions where they live.
It then sought out physical rehabilitation and fitted survivors with any necessary assistive devices to increase mobility.
