About us.

FBDF was founded in 2013, out of a passion to support vulnerable populations, and was formally registered in 2016. FBDF is a unique eco-friendly organization dedicated to supporting people with intellectual disabilities and children facing adversity in rural communities of Zambia. We believe in the dignity and potential of every person, and we work collaboratively to create a more just and inclusive world. Friendly Barn Development Foundation (FBDF) is a sustainable foundation dedicated to providing support for rural individuals with disabilities and children facing adversity.  

At the Friendly Barn Development Foundation (FBDF), we recognize the importance of promoting inclusivity and accessibility in all aspects of our work. In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Zambian government’s commitments to disability rights and inclusive development, we acknowledge the need to prioritize the employment of persons with disabilities.

we strive to create a nurturing environment that offers a home, education, and vocational training to those in need. Our mission is to empower rural individuals with disabilities and disadvantaged children by providing them with opportunities for growth and a fresh start in life.

Through our programs, we aim to:

  • Provide a supportive home environment where individuals with disabilities can thrive and receive the care they deserve.
  • Offer educational opportunities to enhance skills and knowledge, enabling our beneficiaries to reach their full potential.
  • Provide vocational training that equips individuals with practical skills, empowering them to pursue meaningful employment and contribute to their communities.
  • Advocate for the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities.

 

Vision

We envision a just and inclusive community where people with disabilities and children reach their full potential. Through education, healthcare, social mobility initiatives, and a commitment to environmental sustainability, we foster human dignity, integration, and lasting change.

Values

  1. Inclusion: we value the full participation and engagement of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society.

  2. Empowerment: We value the autonomy and self-determination of persons with intellectual disabilities, and strive to empower them to reach their full potential.
  3. Accessibility: we value accessibility and equal access to resources, services, and opportunities for persons with disabilities.
  4. Respect: We value the dignity and worth of every individual, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
  5. Partnership: We value collaboration and partnership with persons with disabilities, thier families, caregivers and other stakeholders to achieve common goals.
  6. Innovation: we value innovative and creative solutions to address the unique needs and challenges faced by persons with intellectual disabilities.
  7. Compassion: We value compassion, empathy, and understanding in our interactions with persons with intellectual disabilities, and strive to provide support and services with kindness and care.

Motto

Helping PWDs invest in themselves

OBJECTIVES

  • 1. Accessible Home-Based Support and Talent Development: Provide personal care and education to individuals with intellectual disabilities in the confort of their own homes for their benefits and the benefit of their families.
  • 2. Inclusive Education: Offer specialized educational programs for child-headed households and children with intellectual disabilities, fostering their cognitive, spiritual, social and emothional growth.
  • 3. Disability Inclusion Awareness and Advocacy: Educate the public about disability rights, promote inclusion and advocate for the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities.
  • 4. Financial Inclusion: Provide access to Financing, microfinance, and financial literacy programs for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
  • 5. Child Find and Support: Conduct outreach programs to identify and support children with disabilities, offering screening, assessment, placement, counselling, and referral services to ensure they receive appropriate support.
  • 6. Empowerment and Enterprenueship: Encourage enterprenuership, provide resources to start businesses, and empower persons with disabilities to overcome poverty and achieve stability.

Mission

FBDF is dedicated to improving the lives and futures of individuals with intellectual disabilities and vulnerable children in rural Zambia. We create safe environments and provide access to education, holistic development, and community resources through innovative projects and partnerships.

Long-Term Vision

FBDF is committed to building a brighter future for rural communities in Zambia. Our long-term vision includes:
A. Mainstreaming: Disability and gender concerns are fully integrated into all aspects of community development.
B. Education Expansion – Inclusive Education: We strive to build our own inclusive school to offer expanded educational opportunities.
C. Improved Healthcare: FBDF aims to establish its own physiotherapy facility and promote overall health and hygiene practices.
D. Economic Empowerment: We work towards economic redemption for people with disabilities, fostering food security and self-sufficiency.
E. Sustainable Practices: FBDF is committed to environmental protection and good governance practices.

Long-Term Goals

FBDF aims to establish expanded education facilities, physiotherapy services, and economic empowerment programs. We strive for gender equality, environmental sustainability, and good governance practices to create a more inclusive and equitable society.​

What we believe in: Engagement of the Community

FBDF believes that the best way to enhance community development is to partner with local experts, other stakeholders and to leverage our community’s resources to ensure maximum impact. We help rural communities realize individualized solutions to their problems. 

We encourage the meaningful engagement of all
community members in activities that promote
environmental justice. This involves training people
with disabilities, children and youth in agricultural
vocational skills and environmental protection, and
promoting the adoption of environmentally friendly
farming techniques among adults. As a destitution
prevention program, FBDF supports persons with
disabilities who are at-risk of losing their dignity due
to poverty and difficult living situations.

FBDF offers a stable, loving environment for persons
with disabilities and children to heal and start their
lives over again. FBDF shall establish the “Second
Opportunity” program, which shall enable our target
groups to pursue an academic and vocation training
through the foundation’s intervention measures. 

 

Participants shall undertake communal service initiatives and oversee projects in their neighbourhood as part of their educational curriculum and scholarship requirements. Meanwhile, their efforts and successes will serve as an inspiring example for their families and for others in the community to pursue post-secondary education/out of school and to participate in community building. For FBDF, solidarity is a reciprocal relationship in which people work together to challenge oppression through mutual respect and valuing of each others’ contributions towards common goals.

FBDF shall be working with the selected target groups
in a participatory manner, with our field staff in Zambia
[Initially Northern Region]. We shall provide training
to build awareness among community members and
encourage them to think critically about the problems
that contribute to the marginalization of persons with
disabilities. 

Then all the stakeholders shall come together to engage in an inclusive planning process and to design and implement a project that uses local resources to improve lives of persons with disabilities in the village. Finally, the community will be guided in reflecting on their work to collect knowledge and insight on their experience which will help them to continue moving forward with their development in the future.

RESEARCH

The Friendly Barn Development Foundation (FBDF) conducts research on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the following

  • Nature and types of disabilities
  • Root causes of disabilities
  • Social and economic imbalances
  • Factors leading to extreme poverty and economic stagnation among persons with disabilities
  • Intervention measures - traditional and contemporary
  • Disability Dynamics
  • Inclusion of disability in the mainstream
  • Innovations in screening and assessment
  • Innovation in counselling
  • Cultural, social, and religious influence on disability
  • Operations of institutions handling persons with disabilities
  • Poverty among people with disabilities created by alienation and noiselessness. We therefore engage in advocacy, and campaign against root causes of disabilities, dynamics amongst persons with disabilities, poverty through our programs.
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