November 9-11, 2011 : Visit: Muchu Center for Independent Living and Networking with Local Community
“You are not alone, and you can feel strong, kind and fun because you have friends!” – Muchu Center, Hyogo.
After completing training in Hiroshima, the participants moved to Osaka to visit one of the leading centers for independent living (CILs) in Japan, named Muchu Center.
What is a CIL?
A “CIL” provides services, support, and advocacy to enhance the rights and abilities of persons with disabilities, aiming for their active participations in their communities and enjoyment of independent living.
Overview on MUCHU Center
Everyone, including those with disabilities, has dreams and the right to pursue them. “Mu” means “dream” in the Japanese language, and “Chu” is to pursue infinite possibilities. The reason why they named this independent living center “Muchu” is because they wanted to provide a secure socializing space for persons with disabilities and to encourage them to achieve self-realization.
Muchu offers various services and carries out a number of activities such as Peer Counseling, Independent Living Programs (ILPs), movements for human rights protection (Advocacy programs) and seminars on independent living that are open to the public. It also creates a venue where persons with and without disabilities can learn together to discover something new and fun.
Provision of personal assistance services is one of the key activities of the CIL. They provide persons with severe disabilities with physical care, household assistance, transportation assistance, personal assistant dispatch services (such as guide services for physically and intellectually disabled persons).
In the course of settling in the community and institutions, persons with disabilities face a number of problems. People at Muchu share such problems seek solutions with them. They also answer questions that arise.
Muchu also supports CILs in other Asian countries (such as Pakistan, Nepal, Cambodia, Taiwan, South Korea and Mongolia). A few decades ago, Japanese people learned about independent living movements and the importance of friendship at CILs from Europe and the U.S.
During their visit to Muchu, the participants learned about the role of CILs, cooperation among persons with and without disabilities, networking with local communities. They also paid a visit to home of Muchu staff and observed an actual situation of independent living (IL).
The participants were very much interested in the concept of IL. They raised many questions and discussed actively. The main topic of the discussion was that there were still strong senses of belief that persons with disabilities are vulnerable and it is the duty of communities and families to protect them. Therefore, they argued, it was very difficult to promote the concept of IL and how to make people understand the rights, needs and wishes of persons with disabilities. The participants and Muchu staff exchanged opinions on how to apply the concept of IL to each country.
They not only learned the meaning of CIL through lectures and discussions, but also were impressed with Muchu’s hospitability! The Muchu people kindly set up a welcome party in the evening of the first day. Indeed, there were many fun events offered by them, and delicious food cooked by staff was served.
During their stay at Muchu, its staff always cared for the participants and supported the secretariat to convey all the programs smoothly. The participants wished they had been able to stay there longer. They had an unforgettable time at Muchu.
