Bruce Curtis heads to Iraq to train disabled people there.
Bruce Curtis, 57, of Berkeley, Calif., is going to Iraq to train 35 disabled Iraqis on how to fight for their rights, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
"International aid workers say Iraq is a land where disabled people are so hobbled by lack of access to roads, doorways and equal opportunity that many simply spend their days at home, depending on family and unable to fend for themselves," the Chronicle writes.
He will start the less-violent Kurdish region in northern Iraq, leading trainers from the Mercy Corps organization of Portland, Ore., as they hold workshops for disabled Iraqis from all corners of that nation.
"The idea is for people to look at their environment and community and see what's working, what we can change, and how do we get the money to do these changes," Curtis said. "Whether it's building a ramp for a library or a government office, getting kids into school, the goal is the same. You need to educate people about what disabilities are and how to treat disabled people better. And in Iraq, we have a lot of work to do."
Curtis has made similar training trips in the past, to Nicaragua in 1980 and to Russia in 1993. He has been a trainer for the World Institute on Disability (WID), an Oakland-based advocacy and education organization, since 1992, and now serves as WID's international projects manager.
