About the Project

PWD Files is a part of a project called “Reporting on Persons with Disabilities” that VERA Files is implementing through a grant from The Asia Foundation’s (TAF) Increasing Participation of People with Disabilities in the 2013 Midterm Elections program.

The project is under the broader Disability-Inclusive Elections initiative popularly known as Fully Abled Nation. This initiative, implemented by The Asia Foundation, is a part of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)’s program on Disability-Inclusive Development.

“Reporting on Persons with Disabilities”  aims to promote the right to suffrage of persons with disabilities through reportage that raises awareness among the public as well as PWDs themselves. The project also aims to call the attention of concerned government agencies and spur them to action on the plight of PWDs.

The project started in January 2012 and will build up toward the May 2013 midterm elections. Among VERA Files’ first activities under the project was an orientation training in February 2012 for some 20 journalists from different parts of the country who will serve as “disability affairs correspondents.” These correspondents will produce multimedia stories—text, audio, video and photos—on PWDs in select towns and cities.