In 2021, the project “Creating a Supportive and an Inclusive Online Teaching and Learning Environment for Learners who are Deaf”, funded by Misereor, was created to help the deaf community in the Philippines, one of the most affected segments of society affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  In the middle of the 3-year implementation of the project of LCDI, a landmark legislation,  Republic Act No. 11650 or “An Act Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education, Establishing Inclusive Learning Resource centers of Learners with Disabilities in all Schools Districts, Municipalities and Cities, Providing for Standards, Appropriating Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes” was signed by then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on March 11, 2022.  Implementation of inclusive education and its related policies is difficult, especially in developing countries.  LCDI believes that the responsibility to help learners with special needs (LSN) does not only rely on schools and the Department of Education.  As a way to cope with these challenges, we will need to work together in order to bridge the inequality for LSNs.  In an effort to help provide a supportive and an inclusive learning environment for them, LCDI will implement the project “Fostering Inclusive Education:  Bridging Support and Services for Success” that aims to holistically address the challenges of implementing inclusive education, as well as to seize opportunities that it offers.

The long-term change that the project aims to contribute to is equalization of educational and employment opportunities for all members of the society leading to their inclusive participation in all aspects of economic, social, cultural, and civic life.