Getting down to business...

So we coming to the end of our second week of our community block already which is hard to believe but what we are starting to realise is we have planned and planned and now it’s time to start doing. I think we are so hesitant because we don’t want to start until everything is planned perfectly and we know it will work but that’s not how this is going to work. We need to hit the ground running and actually start DOING. Rather try and fail then fail to try right? SO the project that we getting going next week is an entrepreneurship project for some of the disabled people in the community. We have the idea of helping a few selected unemployed disabled people in starting a business of selling second hand clothes. I decided to read up on entrepreneurship and disabled people and these are some of the things I found really interesting…

The employment rate for people with disabilities is ridiculously low compared to people without disabilities worldwide and as Occupational Therapists this is problem that is “right down our alley” and we should be part of the main drivers behind increasing the employment rate of people with disabilities who are capable of working. So why not start right here right now in our community? I read through a study that was done on ‘The Emerging Workforce of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities’.  This study revealed some interesting information that ‘self-employment and entrepreneurship are part of a nationwide strategy to help disabled people transition from unemployment or underemployment to gainful employment and self-sufficiency’. It also revealed that disabled people are TWICE as more likely to be self-employed as people who are not disabled. Why you may ask…. The answer is obvious really. Despite some improvements people with disabilities are continuously ‘disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically and educationally’. People with disabilities are defined by their disabilities rather than their abilities and employers fail to recognise their capabilities. This results in disabled people being ‘refused jobs, given less responsibility than co-workers, paid less than co-workers and denied promotions’ as well as bad attitudes towards the disabled by co-workers and employers and physical barriers that never get addressed. The frustration of this makes it obvious then why people with disabilities turn to self-employment. If we think about it self-employment allows the disabled to have control over their schedules and transportation, they will have flexibility in their job tasks and will be able to have all the necessary work accommodations.

Reading this study is made me aware of how empowering this project of ours can be. This project could serve as a vocational rehabilitation strategy for disabled persons in the Mariannridge community. This could not only be beneficial to the individuals involved but also aid in creating awareness about the possibilities of employment for disabled people.

I am really excited to get this project going and I think it could do great things for the disabled in Mariannridge…. Let’s see if entrepreneurship transcends disability!!!

 

Blanck, P. D., Sandler , L. A., Schmeling , J. L., & Schartz , H. A. (2001). The Emerging Workforce of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities: Preliminary Study of Entrepreneurship in Iowa . Iowa Law Review , 1583-1661 .

This a video which shows a disabled man who is successfully self-employed. Click on the link to take a look 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTsWj8QPXDk