Ability Bhutan Society

Ability Bhutan Society (ABS) is a public-benefit organisation based in Thimphu that works with children and adults with moderate to severe disabilities and their families. It was initiated in 2007 as an informal mutual-support group of parents of children with disabilities, registered with the Civil Society Organisations Authority (CSOA) on 10 November 2011, and inaugurated as a project under the Kidu Foundation by Her Majesty Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, who serves as its Royal Patron, on 6 April 2012.

ABS operates an early-intervention centre, runs parent support groups, conducts community-based rehabilitation outreach in several dzongkhags, and is one of the principal advocacy bodies for disability rights in Bhutan. Together with the Disabled Persons' Association of Bhutan, the Wangsel Institute for the Deaf and the Muenselling Institute for the Visually Impaired, it forms the core of the small but active Bhutanese disability-services sector.

Origins

The organisation grew from informal meetings of parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who had limited access to services in Bhutan and were carrying the bulk of caregiving with little institutional support. The founding group, led by parents in Thimphu, identified peer support, basic respite services and eventual access to specialised therapy as immediate priorities.^[1]

Formal registration as a Public Benefit Organisation under the CSOA Act came on 10 November 2011 with registration number CSOA/PBO-15. Inauguration as a Kidu Foundation project on 6 April 2012 by the Gyaltsuen, Bhutan's Queen, marked the start of full-scale operations.^[1]

Programmes

ABS runs four principal programmes:

• Early Intervention Centre at the ABS premises near the Druk Holding and Investments office in Mothithang, Thimphu, providing therapy and structured play for children aged zero to six.
• Parent Support Groups, which connect families across the country and provide peer counselling and information sharing.
• Community Outreach, including respite weekends, transport support and door-to-door home visits in selected dzongkhags.
• Advocacy, including representation on inter-agency committees on disability and contributions to draft national policy frameworks.

Funding comes from the Bhutanese government, the Bhutan Foundation, UNICEF Bhutan, the Helvetas country programme and individual donors. The organisation reports listing on the development-cooperation registry Devex with annual budgets in the low millions of ngultrum.^[2]

Disability rights context

Bhutan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010 and has issued a series of policy frameworks on disability inclusion in education and health. The 2017 Population and Housing Census recorded around 15,000 persons with disabilities in the country, though disability-rights NGOs argue that this is a substantial undercount because many families do not register children with disabilities. ABS has contributed to disability data initiatives with the National Statistics Bureau and to the work of the National Commission for Women and Children.^[3]

Contact information

• Address: near DHI office, Mothithang, Thimphu, Bhutan
• Website: absbhutan.org
• Phone: [Information needed — contribute if you know]
• CSOA registration: CSOA/PBO-15
• Royal Patron: Her Majesty Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck

References

1. Overview — Ability Bhutan Society
2. Ability Bhutan Society — Devex profile
3. About Us — Disabled People's Organization of Bhutan
4. Bhutan Partners — Bhutan Foundation
5. UNICEF Bhutan — disability programming
6. Coverage of Ability Bhutan Society — Kuensel