Through an annual fundraising initiative, young people in the disabled community are provided with the opportunity to enter the job market and contribute meaningfully to the economy.
Last month the country celebrated the annual fundraising initiative, Casual Day – South Africa’s leading fundraising and awareness campaign for people with disabilities and the flagship project of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD).
The Breede Valley Association of and for Persons with Disabilities (BVAPD) participated in an initiative borne out of a partnership between MAMAS Alliance, Engen and the More Than Organisation. The BVAPD is a non-profit organisation that renders therapeutic, social and community development services to all persons with disabilities in the Breede Valley Municipal area, including the communities of Worcester, Rawsonville, De Doorns and Touws River.
Established in 1951 the BVAPD has six strategic focus areas which include: good governance; developmental social work services; work and employment; education and childcare; youth development and wellness and awareness. This year once again their trusted partners, Engen – who assists BVAPD with many initiatives built on upskilling and various learning programmes; MAMAS Alliance – a non-profit organisation focused on uniting business with a focus on philanthropism with other non-profits seeking guidance and assistance; and the More Than Organisation, joined the festivities, where Engen announced the renewal of their annual contribution to BVAPD.
German More, CSI manager at Mamas Alliance, said “We are grateful for this opportunity to partner with Engen again and pleased to celebrate this initiative with an overview of providing support for persons with disabilities. With rising unemployment, this is a valuable initiative – the BVAPD programmes strive to ensure that people living with disability are provided with the opportunity to enter the job market. Partnerships such as these contribute positively to making a dent in the national crisis. I believe this partnership will go a long way to ensuring that young people in this community get the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the economy, become contributors to the economy, and ultimately become independent citizens.”
Adhila Hamdulay, CSI Manager, Engen Petroleum, said “Engen has been a partner of the Breede Valley APD since 2016. We have been involved with various aspects of the upskilling programmes, and we’re looking forward to our renewed three-year partnership, where we will be empowering people with disabilities in various areas and eventually prepare them for the open labour market. It gives us great pleasure because one of our strategic four pillars is a focus on people with disabilities. The other three pillars are: education; health, safety and wellbeing; and environment. We are happy to be partnering with APD again in 2022.”
Breede Valley APD CEO Louine Griessel, said “We are very grateful to partner with Engen again. It is a great privilege to share and celebrate South Africa’s persons with disabilities. With the assistance and support of MAMAS Alliance, and for the next three years, we will follow a slightly different process with our income-generating projects. We will be focusing more on personal growth and address the fears and resistances of people with disabilities entering the open labour market. We would like to strive for 32-persons with disabilities to, over this three-year period, enter the open labour market – with the continuous support from Breede Valley APD. Thank you to Engen for this opportunity and for investing positively in the lives of persons with disabilities within the Breede Valley community, for them to take up their social and economic responsibility within society.”
“We will be focusing more on personal growth and address the fears and resistances of people with disabilities entering the open labour market.”
Tsidiso Sedikoe, Waste Management Manager at Breede Valley APD, said “Preparing our beneficiaries for the open market is a huge task and something they have never had before, which is a big challenge for us. We hope that all the skills that they’ve learned will give them a brighter future within the community in the open labour market.”
For more information on MAMAS Alliance, please email info@mamasalliance.com, or phone +27 (0)11 453 0531.
