We The People: Creating A Job Market For The Intellectually Disabled (Communities - Services Offered)

Item ID 15556102 in Category: Communities - Services Offered

We The People: Creating A Job Market For The Intellectually Disabled


A year into its inception in 2011, the founders of the Mann, a Mum­bai-bas­ed NGO that offers training in making art and crafts products to people with int­ellectual disability—IQ below 70—were in for a surprise. Four of their benefici­a­ries had sta­r­ted imitating the trainers, usi­ng the comma­nds, action cues like flash cards, etc., to dir­ect fellow students.

In enc­ouragement, the foundation hired them as assistant trainers on a monthly stipend.
The remuneration brought a sea change. The students, who mostly belonged to low­er income groups living in chawls, slums or single-parent households, felt a sense of purp­ose while their families no longer saw them as a burden. It prompted the founders to des­ign a curriculum that identified mai­nly housekeeping/laundry roles in industr­i­es such as F&B, corporate, retail, hos­­pi­tality and art, suitable for people with intellectual disability, based on which training programmes were created. But the plan hit a roadblock when companies refused to employ the students.

“For almost two years, we were shunned. Most companies didn’t even hear us out, saying these people don’t belong in an office. Finally, Café Zoe in Mum­bai (now defunct) hir­ed one beneficiary. Their instant feedback was that habits like punctuality were achi­e­ved among other staff after the new member joined,” recalls co-founder Beverly Louis.

Word spread and other restaurateurs app­r­oached Café Zoe, who put them in touch with the NGO. Now, 60+ companies are employm­ent partners, including Microsoft and KPMG. In the pandemic, the curriculum was digitised. “We shared it with NGOs across India that are experiencing a shortage of funds, staff and resources. NGOs are already struggling to sus­tain, so why add competitiveness to it?” Louis reasons.

To know more: https://mann.org.in/


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Target State: All States
Target City : Mumbai, Maharashtra India
Last Update : Feb 27, 2024 12:49 PM
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Item  Owner  : Mann
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2024-05-28 (0.401 sec)