When i set out to attend today`s meeting in the morning organized by VSO Jitolee,i had different thoughts in mind on realizing that my presentation wasn`t going to be made verbally but rather inserted in the information pack for the participants to take it away;interestingly,i ended up creatively making the presentation by way of asking questions on how can we partner with corporate organizations to ensure persons with disabilities get internship opportunties,what`s the right time to contact the corporates and who do you seek to talk to? It ended up being very useful including learning what Barclays Bank and General Motors Ltd are doing to support such initiatives.
One gets the sense of it from their perspectives that truly,how i am going to entertain your idea at the end of the month when what i should be doing is to justify my salary for that month?How i am going to take up an intern yet the workload at the office is too little to require additional hands?
Both of the participants who responded to my question encouraged us to do a background check/search through their websites or even call directly inquiring of a specific topic and in that way,when you approach them,you are doing so at the right time when you can get their valuable time and desired attention to reach an agreement on formats of engagement.
General Motors East Africa talked of their initiative and commitment to take in persons with disabilities and an internal effort to accommodate persons with disabilities within their workfoce.They have specialized facilities to accommodate employees with disabilities.The representative talked straight indicating that,it does not however mean because one has a disability;that they will be taken in only for that consideration,they have to be qualified and show what value they will be bringing to the Company when they intern or are hired.
Barclays Bank also stated that they indeed have a policy that ensures they follow inclusive measures and on that,they do hire persons with disabilities.The representative ably mentioned to me how many staff have disability in their employ and the deliberate efforts they put in ensuring that they workforce is as inclusive as possible.
I even found more reasons as to why we do the Access to Work project that is supported in partnership of AbleChildAfrica and Comic Relief where we seek to build the confidence of graduates with disabilities looking for employment and those planning to start their own small scale businesses for self-reliance.
The fear of employing a person with disability who brings a victim mentality to the workplace was touched on and this is really what we are mentoring our participants to watch out for;It is their skills and competencies that is going to get them that dream job and not a mere fact that they have a disability and thus needs to be considered alongside others who apply and merit the same consideration.
VSO Jitolee was elaborating on their strategy on how corporate bodies can engage their staff in volunteering their time in the communities as a sustainable way of ensuring impact in communities where they choose to do their CSR activities,moving away from one-off photo opportunity with a dummy cheque and really not caring about what impact that brings in the longer term.
We have several ways through which we can partner with corporate institutions to enable them fulfil their CSR objectives while ensuring that there is value in the investement they make in the communities we work in.That brings me to the difference in the bottom-line between the corporate and civil societies: While that of the corporate is,how much leverage are we getting in return of our investment and how does that reflect on our balance sheet when we speak with the shareholders;that of the civil society will be,what impact does the investment realize,how many people are benefiting sustainably and what impact does that have to the work & business of the corporate that is supporting such initiatives in the community?? When this is well balanced,you will find out that everyone is happy and the community feels proud of the existence of the particular corporate institution,a seed of developmental sustainability is hence realized.
It is therefore our desire and intent to partner with willing corporate institutions both here in Kenya and abroad to ensure that we bring a lasting impact to the lives of thousands of persons with disabilities in Kenya and that might even be simply in a way of:
- Volunteering your staff to come and give a motivational talk to our entrepreneurship training sessions on a selected them
- Giving a talk during our sports training sessions only lasting upto 30 minutes to support the participants as we improve their skills in various ways
- Sponsoring our sporting activities to enable us expand our reach.
- Supporting sports tournaments that can bring exposure to the individuals participating in the various sports and also creating awareness around disability issues
- Providing internship opportunities to our participants and signing as mentors
- Becoming friends of ANDY
For this and more opportunities that we can work together,please feel free to contact the Executive Director at info@andy.or.ke or call us on 020-2324589 or 0715 613 602 ( we are located at 16th Floor,Hazina Towers)
You can also follow our on Twitter and on facebook and learn more about our work @ www.andy.or.ke
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