Nate Foundation

WHY WE DO THIS 

In Zambia, people living with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) face a lot of challenges, including prejudice, stigma, fear and low expectations to achieve anything independently. These challenges have resulted into limited and poor access to inclusive education systems, limited health care, unconducive community living, limited income social security, limited laws for non-exploitative work conditions and generally, marginalized societal benefits that affect their well-being. 

THE CHALLENGE

Many children and youth with IDD are hidden away from the harsh conditions of society by their parents and guardians resulting in exclusion, squashed human rights, violence and at times abuse of persons with intellectual developmental disabilities.


Nate Foundations goal is to create an equitable society which allows persons with IDDs to prosper.

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HOW WE WORK

Tailor-made implementation

The Nate Foundation works with local partners and organizations to provide tailor made and Human centered design approaches that meet the needs of children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their parents/guardians. We create a more accessible and inclusive environment for them and support them in their development.

We do this through

Collaborations and Sustainable support

The Nate Foundation works to bring about sustainable change by collaborating and joining forces with like-minded organizations, actors, and authorities to fight for common goals and beliefs. Together we believe that we can create a greater impact and encourage policy changes in our country for the betterment of the children and youth with IDD. The Foundation with its partners works to bring about structural change in the lives of children and youth with intellectual and developmental disability and their families.

We employ different modes and strategies to effect change including:

  Community Sensitization and Awareness

This is the core of our awareness raising and information building. Our aim is to contribute to a well-informed population about Intellectual and developmental disability. To do this, we focus on Sensitization programs to the public, Sensitization programs to Parents and Guardians of children with IDD, and Knowledge management through a spectrum of information dissemination mediums. 

Capacity building and Empowerment programs

In our quest to instill knowledge and skills in key stakeholders, we support capacity building and training programs to families, caregivers, professionals and non-professionals of IDD. 

​We acknowledge the need to empower vulnerable parents and guardians, especially ``the women with home-based business skills and access to financial support services.


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Research and knowledge management 

Nate Foundation supports the collection of data about IDD in its various forms. We believe that statistics on intellectual and developmental disability are essential tools in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes for promoting the rights of people with disabilities, and for examining the impact of policies and programmes. 


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Policy and Advocacy for systemic improvement

We collaborate with existing institutions that foster for the rights of people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We also collaborate with existing institutions that lobby for government recognition and provision of enabling environment and infrastructure for individuals with IDD    


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Fundraising

Nate foundation carries out fundraising activities for children and youth with IDD in peri urban and rural areas that lack basic needs such as nutritious food, clean water, safe shelter and enabling necessities for their developmental wellbeing.
We believe in the African paraphrased proverb - “It takes a village to raise a special needs child”. The raised funds are used to support the many needs for the vulnerable groups living with IDD in rural and peri-urban areas of Zambia.