508 chapter 54
Alternatives to farm work
Many disabled villagers will need to learn skills other than farm work. If
unemployment is high it may not be wise to train disabled persons for jobs
where there is a lot of competition. In fact, any sort of paid job may be hard to get.
Therefore, it often makes more sense to teach young disabled persons skills so
that they can become self-employed. Or perhaps several disabled and non-disabled
persons can become partners in a small ‘home industry’.
A village-based rehabilitation center with
a shop can teach young disabled persons
different manual skills such as leatherwork,
clothes making, woodworking or welding.
While they are with the program, they
can use these skills to make a wide
range of rehabilitation and orthopedic
equipment. They can also make toys, chairs,
leather goods, clothes, and other objects
for sale. The income from the sale of these
things can help cover some of the costs
of the rehabilitation program and training.
When the learners have gained enough skills,
perhaps the community program can help
them set up their own small ‘shop’ in their
home, village, or neighborhood.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT—A WISE APPROACH
WHERE JOBS ARE HARD TO GET
Helping disabled persons become
craftspeople and set up their own small
business in their home is one of the best
approaches to employment for disabled
persons with good minds and hands.
In several countries, organizations for the disabled have started revolving loan plans
that provide the disabled craftsperson with the basic equipment to start his or her own
small business. The loans are paid back little by little over a reasonable time, so that
the same money can be used to help another disabled person get started.
Trash collection—a job nobody likes but
everyone must help do. (PROJIMO)
In the West Indies, the Caribbean
Council for the Blind provides a
guarantee to local banks which give
‘start-up’ loans to disabled persons.
So far, 97 percent of the disabled
persons who have received loans
have met their payments on time.
This record is better than that
of able-bodied persons. It helps
convince bankers not only that
disabled persons can run their own
small businesses responsibly, but
that they are a good investment.
By involving local banks in the
loan program, the public is being
educated toward a new respect and
appreciation for disabled persons.
Disabled village Children