The speakers at our March Regional meeting were from the charity Action Around Bethlehem Children with Disabilities (ABCD). This is a charity which President Alison has been associated with for many years.  It was started 35 years ago by Val Jourdan, a paediatric physiotherapist. She had undertaken  a placement  in Bethlehem with the Leonard Cheshire Foundation. There is a high incidence of disability with a high rate of complications around birth and early years cases.  There is little use of birth control and marriages within isolated rural communities. This leads to a large number of genetic disorders. There is still a stigma attached to any form of disability, even within families with disabled children. There is a tendency to hide them away, so without some intervention,  Val explained that these children live isolated and unproductive lives. ABCD, is a charity based in the UK. It