What We Do   Community Health Care Centers   Specialized Services   Mobile Clinics & Outreach Programs   Lending Centers   Health Education   School Health Program   School of Community Health   Emergency Response Program   Community-Based Rehabilitation     Physiotherapy Centers   Daycare Centers   Chronic Diseases Program   Well-Baby & Child Health Program   Women’s Health Program   Community Mobilization Programs   Advocacy & Public Awareness	Community-Based Rehabilitation There is a considerable lack of appropriate rehabilitation services in Palestine. Furthermore, in Palestinian society disability is often a taboo subject and there are many misconceptions about the disabled. The services that are available are generally located in urban areas, leaving people in villages and smaller towns without services in their own communities. Thus, there is a great need for community-based, affordable rehabilitation care in villages and towns throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Recognizing this, UPMRC established its community-based rehabilitation program in the late 1980s, and over the years has developed a comprehensive rehabilitation program comprised of various components designed to address the needs of the disabled in Palestine, their families and their communities. More than just services, our programs aim to change misperceptions, educate the general public about disabilities and provide disabled people with the necessary skills to become more self-sufficient and integrated into the wider community. Elements of our Rehabilitation Program include: the Community Based Rehabilitation Program, Medical Equipment Lending Centers, Gaza and Nablus Physiotherapy Centers and Day Care Centers. In the year 2000, UPMRC contacted and worked with 8,900 disabled people. Elements of our Community-Based Rehabilitation Program include: Medical Equipment Lending Centers, Gaza and Nablus Physiotherapy Centers and a Day Care Center. Currently the program operates in 97 localities and covers a population of approximately 500,000. In the year 2000, UPMRC contacted and worked with 8,900 disabled people. The program is considered to be one of the leading rehabilitation programs in the country. Its foremost aims are to:   · Promote more appropriate and equitable policies with regards to disability, both at the local and national levels;   · Achieve full social integration of disabled persons into their own communities by enabling them to become independent in performing daily activities, utilizing existing community resources;   · Improve prevention policies, mainly in the field of early detection and early intervention. The concept is modeled on a rights-based approach to provide opportunities for disabled people to achieve equality with other community members. Community Outreach: Beyond clinic-based care and referrals, an important aspect of the Community-Based Rehabilitation program is outreach to both the disabled and their communities as a whole. UPMRC achieves this through performing home visits to the disabled, organizing community activities with the active participation of local community structures, running summer camps for disabled children in cooperation with local schools and kindergartens, and recruiting volunteers from different communities to work with the disabled. In the year 2000 alone, program staff conducted 22,372 home visits, organized more than 2,918 community activities and 21 summer camps for more than 500 disabled children and coordinated 1,917 volunteers. Integration: One of the primary goals of the program is to integrate disabled children and adults into their communities, including into mainstream schools and into the workforce. In 2000, the program successfully integrated more than 498 children into mainstream schools and assisted disabled adults by providing them with vocational rehabilitation, and successfully integrated 96 individuals into mainstream jobs. Advocacy: UPMRC believes that efforts to support the disabled should be nationwide. Thus, the program established coordination committees in 5 regions with representatives from government ministries, NGOs and representatives of the disabled themselves. Furthermore, it launched a massive campaign in cooperation with other rehabilitation institutions to persuade government ministries to develop appropriate procedures that guarantee the rights of disabled people in accordance with the articles stipulated in the disability law. The Physiotherapy Centers: UPMRC's physiotherapy centers in Gaza and Nablus provide physiotherapy and rehabilitation care to people in need. They also serve to raise awareness about physical disabilities and the role of physiotherapy care in achieving maximum individual independence. The Day Care Centers: As an integral part of its community-based rehabilitation efforts, UPMRC established a daycare center in the village of Biddo in the West Bank. The center provides support activities, helps disabled children become better integrated into their communities, and works to change societal attitudes about disability.