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Since 2010 · Thimphu, Bhutan

Nothing about us, without us.

The Disabled People’s Organization of Bhutan was founded by persons with disabilities, for persons with disabilities. We train, equip, advocate, and stand beside one another. Join us, and we stand beside you too.

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we made this place for each other

01 · Why we exist

Why the organization exists

Disability is not someone else’s story.

An accident on the highway. An illness that lingers. A child born a little differently. Any one of us, at any moment.

And when it happens, the question becomes: will there be a place for you, a voice for you, and a path forward?

A place where you are supported, included, and given the opportunity to shape your own future.

So in 2010, persons with disabilities in Bhutan stopped waiting for that place to be built, and built it for each other.

02 · Who we are

Led by us. For us.

DPOB is the only disabled people’s organization in Bhutan with persons with disabilities on its Board of Directors, its Technical Committee, and its Management Team. When we say nothing about us without us, we mean the people signing the decisions.

7
Board of Directors

persons with disabilities sit on the board

15
Technical Committee

shaping every programme

12
Community outreach workers

two in each of six dzongkhags

7
Management team

running the day to day

03 · The road so far

Fifteen years of showing up.

  1. When it all began

    2010

    A voice of our own

    A group of persons with disabilities founded the Disabled Persons’ Association of Bhutan and registered it with the Civil Society Organizations Authority on 26 November 2010. It later became the Disabled People’s Organization of Bhutan.

  2. Skills that pay the rent

    2024

    Sixteen trainees, one hotel floor at a time

    Housekeeping training launched with 16 participants with diverse disabilities, including deaf and hard-of-hearing trainees, supported by Helvetas Bhutan and the European Union. Hoteliers received Disability Equality Training so the doors would actually open.

  3. Care that comes to your door

    2024

    SCCI+ begins in Paro

    The Service with Care and Compassion Initiative started visiting homebound persons with disabilities and senior citizens in Paro, together with Paro College of Education.

  4. Seen in the city

    Oct 2024

    Over 100 white canes at the Clock Tower

    For International White Cane Safety Day, more than a hundred people who are blind or have low vision gathered at Thimphu’s Clock Tower Square. Visible, together, unmissable.

  5. A language gets its interpreters

    2025

    Bhutanese Sign Language, professionally interpreted

    With Wangsel Institute for the Deaf and the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the Bhutanese Sign Language Interpreter Course curriculum was made ready. A national framework for interpreting services followed.

  6. Membership Drive

    2026

    Your chapter

    This is where the story turns to you. Every monthly member lets us plan a year ahead instead of a month ahead. The next line is yours to write.

04 · What we do

Seven ways we show up.

01

Health care support

Wheelchairs, hearing aids, crutches, prosthetics and adaptive keyboards. Consultations and rehabilitation coordinated with hospitals so care arrives on time.

02

Education support

Scholarships that cover tuition, materials and the costs nobody budgets for, so students with disabilities finish what they start.

03

Critical skills training

Tailoring, bakery, music, ICT, spa and massage, housekeeping. Skills that lead to a paycheque and a seat at the table.

04

Deaf programs

Bhutanese Sign Language courses and a deaf community organization, because a language deserves interpreters and a room of its own.

05

Community support

Twelve community outreach workers across six dzongkhags keep our membership registry alive so no person is left off the map.

06

Social support

SCCI+ home visits for people who cannot come to us, and weekly gatherings like Dra-Nyam in Phuentsholing for people who can.

07

Advocacy

Policy work with government, so disability is written into laws, buildings, budgets and the plans made about us.

Every one of these runs on monthly members.

See how membership works

05 · Become a member

A small monthly act. A large safety net.

Monthly members are the reason we can plan a year ahead. Your contribution is deducted automatically from your Bank of Bhutan account. It funds training, devices and scholarships, and it comes back to you as protection.

  • Every contribution is tax exempt. Generate your certificate online.
  • A certificate of appreciation and a recommendation letter.
  • Cancel any time. No card needed, just your bank account.

Nu. 500

that’s Nu. 6,000 a year

Nu. 50Nu. 5,000

If I become permanently disabled

Nu. 50,000

One-time support equal to 100 times your monthly contribution, during your membership.

If I pass away

Nu. 10,000

Semso handed to the family member you nominate, during your membership.

Become a monthly member
takes about 3 minutes

Benefits as per DPOB membership terms. Claims for disability and death benefits are submitted through this portal. How to claim.

06 · Held to account

Trust is earned in the audit room.

Warm words are easy. Here is what stands behind them.

  • 01

    Audited by the Royal Audit Authority

    Every ngultrum that comes in is subject to external audit. Audit and activity reports are published on dpobhutan.org.

  • 02

    A registered civil society organization since 2010

    Governed by a Charter and Articles of Association under the Civil Society Organization Act 2007. Registration CSOA/PBO-09.

  • 03

    A board with term limits

    Trustees serve fixed terms and are drawn from the membership. Persons with disabilities sit at every level of decision-making.

  • 04

    Receipts and certificates you can pull yourself

    Contribution receipts, tax-exemption and appreciation certificates are generated online with your CID, permit or passport number.

organizations we have worked alongside

  • Gross National Happiness Commission
  • UNDP Bhutan
  • UNICEF Bhutan
  • World Health Organization
  • Austrian Development Agency
  • Helvetas Bhutan
  • European Union
  • Canada Fund for Local Initiatives
  • Normisjon
  • Nittento Foundation
  • ADAPTSSI
  • Wangsel Institute for the Deaf

07 · Your part

Write yourself into the story.

Three doors. Pick the one that is yours today. You can always come back for another.

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