Employing People with Disabilities
People with Disabilities want to work but there are many barriers. Read about some of the barriers faced by disabled people here.
Job Placement
People with disabilities can register with the Job Placement Portal (http://placement.ncpwd.go.ke/public/) to access vacant job opportunities with the NCPWD’s partners.
Self - Employment
People with disabilities may be able to achieve economic self-sufficiency through self-employment. The advantages of self-employment are many as it is possible to avoid many of the barriers associated with mainstream working, and thanks to online trading, the prospect of running a business is better now than it used to be.
The Internet is a marketing medium, and the opportunities for people with disabilities to pursue this type of self-employment are feasible. Internet marketing simply means to sell products or services using the Internet as a marketing tool rather than other traditional outlets such as open air markets or brick and mortar retail locations. The entry cost of online trading can be extremely low, with website hosting packages and domain names almost free in some cases. Social media and other outlets such as Etsy may charge a small commission but are great marketing tools.
Fair trading
(by Aled @ https://www.fairdos.com)
The world we live in isn’t fair. According to Oxfam, just 8 men have as much wealth as 3.6 billion of the world’s poorest people. They have greatly benefited from a global trading system that favours the rich, at the expense of the poor. The richest 1% of the world’s population have around $110 trillion to share between them, while 10% of the world’s population, or 700 million people, live on less than $1.90 a day. 43% of the world’s poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.
While the rich have been getting richer, the movement to see things change and done differently has been growing. More and more people are demanding a fairer trading system that empowers farmers and workers in many of the world’s poorest countries. They want guarantees that the people who produce the items they consume are being paid a fair price for their work, and work in decent, safe conditions.
In many countries across Europe and the USA, many products now carry the Fairtrade symbol. This can be found on items such as tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas, sugar, rice and even gold. In the UK, more than 5,000 different products have the Fairtrade mark, more than any other country. If a product has this symbol, the consumer knows that the farmers who grew the crop have been paid a fair price for their work. The farmers are protected from volatile changes in the global price for the different commodities by being paid a minimum price that will always cover the cost of production.
Fairtrade also pays an additional sum of money called the Fairtrade Premium. This money is used to invest in the community and the business, and can be used to improve the quality of the product, improve production methods, build schools or health centres, and provide clean water. How this money is spent is decided collectively by the farmers, based on the needs of their community. Sales of Fairtrade products in the UK in 2016 helped generate £30 million of Fairtrade Premium, which has been paid back to the farmers and communities.
To achieve Fairtrade certification, farmers must also meet strict guidelines that ensure safe working conditions, with no child labour, and protection of the environment. The goal is for production to be fully sustainable on three levels – social, economic and environmental – and ensure that farmers and workers earn what they need to meet their needs, pay for children’s education and empower some of the world’s poorest people, especially women.
Fairtrade supports more than 1.65 million small-scale farmers and workers in 74 countries around the world, with many of them in Africa, including coffee farmers in Uganda, coco farmers in Ghana, tea and sugar producers in Malawi, and flower growers in Kenya.
Fair trade can also apply to craft products, through the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO). They have ten principles of fair trade that producers must meet, and the demand for good quality, hand-made and unique craft items is growing. In the UK, for example, there are many avenues to get products to the market, such as independent fair trade shops (that are supported by The British Association for Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers – BAFTS), and organisations such as Traidcraft, who have been passionate pioneers of fair trade since 1979 and source products from 30 countries, including Kenya.
Although the world we live in isn’t fair, more and more people want to see this change and by supporting fair trade, they are enabling some of the world’s poorest people to not only survive, but thrive.
For more information on fair trading click on the links below:
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-01-16/just-8-men-own-same-wealth-half-world
https://www.compassion.com/poverty/poverty.htm
Vocational Training Centres around Nairobi
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Training Centre |
Contact: Person/Address/Tel. |
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ACTIVITIES |
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Grangeville school |
Mandera road off Othaya road next to Kenya High School Telephone: 0716916274 |
thegrangevilleschool@gmail.com
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Catering, Cosmetology, Pottery, Computer skills, Music |
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Mathare Technical |
Mathare, Nairobi Contact person: Shadrack Telelephone: 0724735591 |
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Offer a variety of farming activities including poultry, flower/landscape and beadwork. |
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Jacaranda School |
Kileleshwa, Nairobi Telephone: 0204347571 |
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Offer Carpentry, Beading and others |
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Gibson School |
Karen, Nairobi Telephone: 0731257014 |
Computer skills, Beading Card making |
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Zabibu Centre |
Ruiru, Kiambu Telephone: 0722707492 |
Fashion and design, Creative skills, Livestock management, Business administration, Computer skills, Early childhood education and others |
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Marianne Center foundation |
Nairobi-Maai Mahiu road on Nyataragi. Telephone: 0726325853/0710271529 |
Offer a variety of farming activities, beadwork and others |
I AM EMPLOYABLE
A publication on creating access to technical and vocational education for young people with disabilities in Kenya entitled I AM EMPLOYABLE can be found below.