Being Disabled in Denmark is more sunny than shady
- By Mr. Janus Tarp, Denmark

The sun is shining through the window of my office. I am writing this article and thinking of how to describe the present situation of a person with disability in my country, Denmark. Then it appears to me that I am lucky. If I want to go outside and enjoy the weather, I can do so. If I choose not to, I just stay inside. A simple way of describing my life - I admit - nevertheless it describes the essential element of my situation: I possess the right to choose what I want to do and I have all the means available for all choices to be possible.

My life is normal and without obstacles caused by my disability. Since I am paralyzed I have an electric wheelchair and a one-flat house without doorsteps especially designed for me. I also have a big car with a lift and personal assistants to help me 24 hours a day.

When I was 14 years old, I met with a traffic accident; I was hit by a truck while riding my bicycle and was paralyzed from my shoulders to my feet. I also lost the ability of breathing. I was hospitalized for eight months. Since my parents' home was being reconstructed during that time they were not able to provide me full care. I was, however, attended to by trained assistants and taught by a hospital teacher. You can say that I was rehabilitated in a way that made it possible for me to
go on living a life very similar to the life that I was living before the accident.

Of course, I could not ride a bicycle or wash myself anymore. But my life had not ended. I remained the same person, kept most of my friends and got the opportunity to go back to my class on the same level as my mates. I returned home.

Law student paying back

All these efforts were a consequence of the attitude and legislation produced by the decision makers at that time. Behind this lies a human mind-set saying that although you are disabled, you are no less a human being. You can still take part in society if you’re given the necessary conditions and tools.

I completed high school and went directly to university and studied law. To do so I had to move away from home and move to Copenhagen, the Danish capital. From this time on, I hired my own assistants and lived on money that I received from the local municipal. I got the possibility to focus on my study and that made me realize that I should join the disability organisations in order to give something back in return for what I was receiving and to try to further improve the conditions of persons with disabilities.

During my career with the disability organisations I learned more and more about how persons with disabilities are being treated not only in Denmark but also in less developed countries. It made me focus on the international perspective, which is why I decided last year to join the Danish group of development workers employed by disability organisations sent to different projects in countries like Nepal, Ghana and Uganda.

I was scheduled to go to a project in Uganda working with a unique seen in a global perspective – group of parliamentarians--all with disabilities. But unfortunately my municipal refused to let me go with my personal assistants. I have lodged a complaint with the superior tribunal and am now awaiting the decision from it. The consequences of this situation are delaying the project and a case of discrimination caused by my disability.

Instead of just sitting, waiting and doing nothing, I have got a part-time job in a central institution dealing with discrimination and inequity on disability. Here I can combine my education and the possibility of improving the lives of persons with disabilities in Denmark. It is a perfect combination.

Disability not only an individual matter

For many years it has been the official Danish policy to compensate disabled people for their disability by legislative measures. Through compensation you are aiming at breaking down the limiting consequences of your disability.

Disability can be understood not only as an individual condition but also as something arising from a society, which is not inclusive.

The understanding of this is visible in the two-track strategy by which Denmark addresses the issue of disability. The first way addresses the individual aspect by attempting to diminish the physical or mental disability to a level not impacting the chance of an equal life.

As examples of this I can mention the granting of support devices, such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, canes, dogs, special cars, computers, personal assistants etc. For persons with disabilities it is their fundamental right to be able to overcome the “medical” disability in such a way that it has no influence on the choices you can make in your life. In Denmark the legislation – seen in a general perspective – is in favour of this principle.

The second way is addressing disability issues on a societal level. It is crucial that persons with disabilities are not hindered in exercising the same opportunities to participate in all aspects of life, as those given to everyone else. A wheelchair is of no use if you cannot use it outside because there is no wheelchair hoists.

Thus Danish society has made it its official plan to eradicate those barriers--barriers turning persons with disabilities into disabled people.


Vicious circle

This part is obviously the most difficult in the plan of action, and unfortunately it is very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Danish government is hesitating to schedule many of the big changes in the physical environment. Some small steps are taken but the big and obligating lines are almost nonexistent.

Sometimes this creates odd situations. It is a fact that many persons with disabilities wish to have a job but not many jobs are given to disabled people. In some cases, granting a special car requires that you can prove you have a job to make use of the car for. But, often the opposite is also the case; if you do not have a special car, you can’t get a job,  because the public transportation system is to a large extent inaccessible. It is like a vicious circle, caused by two systems not cooperating.

Working for better conditions

With a view to improving the conditions for persons with disabilities in Denmark, a number of organisations of disabled people have founded a national umbrella organisation called DSI (the Danish Council of Organisations of Disabled People). With the establishment of DSI, people with disabilities got a strong and united representative body, which in many cases has succeeded in influencing and impacting the legislation.

I am also a member of one of the DSI member organisations called PTU (the Danish Association of Polio, Traffic and Accident
Victims). During the last ten to fourteen years I have been involved in fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities in Denmark, but also abroad. I want to use my background in law, and my knowledge and experience to help disabled people in less developed countries so as to achieve the same conditions as I have here.

Though the sun is shining through the window hitting me, there are still many shadows to find and eradicate. As long as the sun is not shining on us all, there is still a job to do!


Hid in the Hut
- By Dorthe Skovgaard

Kevin is six years old and lives with his mother and five siblings in a small hut surrounded by green fields full of maize, bananas and beans.

Kevin’s mother is a special woman. She has given birth to two sets of twins. Twins are considered a special blessing amongst the Luyias in the Western part of Kenya, so the entire village celebrated when the first set of twins arrived.

However, when Kevin and his twin brother were born, the party ended quickly. Kevin is paralyzed from the neck down – a condition most likely caused by the difficult delivery that took place without proper medical assistance – as most births in Africa do.

Kevin’s mother quickly realized that something was not right, because the baby did not cry at all the first two weeks. When
people came to visit she used to hide him.

As many others in Kenya, she was convinced that the disability of her child was caused by her wrongdoing; it was a punishment
from God.

Kevin was held hidden in the hut until a social worker from a development programme of the Anglican Church – CCS - learnt
about his existence.CCS works to promote the rights of disabled people and to raise awareness about them.

Today, Kevin lives out in the open and receives some education and medical attention. A physiotherapist helps him to strengthen his back and legs. Kevin will always require special care, but since he emerged from the darkness of the
hut, half blind, shy and stiff, he has progressed a lot. He can sit up straight all by himself in a specially made chair and his eyes are full of life.

Kevin’s story is not only that of a little boy, who got a second chance. It is also the story about an organization, challenging the local community’s notion about disability being a punishment from God and creating special education and healthcare possibilities for people with disabilities.

MS Kenya and its partners advocate the rights of Kenya’s poor people. A crucial part of that work is to challenge and change
systems and traditions that keep people from prospering. Only then can you create development.


(Janus Tarp is a Jurist in Denmark)

(Dorthe Skovgaard is Information Development Worker in MS Kenya)