Cane workshop a must-see

KENNETH Ngwenya, manager of the cane workshop at the KZN Society for the Blind, is doing his best to give back to the society.

Kenneth, who used to be blind, started working at the society in the early 90s as a weaver. The society paid for Kenneth to have an eye operation which restored his sight with the use of glasses.

Kenneth left the society and started out on his own. He won the SAB Kickstart Programme in 2003 as a national business entrepreneur. During the programme, he learnt more about production and business management, but he had to close his business down due to challenges.

Kenneth returned to the society to give back.

“I learnt a lot while I was on my own, but it is now payback time. I returned to the society to help make it better, with the knowledge I had gained through the Kickstart programme,” he said.

He said God made him visually impaired for a purpose, so he could learn and take back his experiences to the society, so more blind people could be employed and also change for the better.

“The challenge of employing the blind is that people don't know how to deal with them in the workplace. The society is offering companies the opportunity to bring their packaging work to us now, and we offer a mentor in return to these companies to train them to deal with employing blind people. This will enable more companies to employ people with disabilities. We are currently training 40 people to be mentors,” he said.

Kenneth said SA Fasteners were currently partnering with the society and would employ two blind people as full-time staff. The society also encourages other companies to form a contract with the society for packaging.

The cane workshop has been training people as cane weavers for the past four years and there are 25 qualified weavers on site in Umbilo.

The workshop offers a variety of cane items for sale to the public and staff are also exploring a new avenue, making plastic and cast iron furniture.

There is a 10 per cent discout for pensioners on a Wednesday.

“We encourage people to visit and see our hand crafted products. We are also appealing to the community to donate us paint and labour and someone who would be willing to help design a fresh look for our showroom,” said Kenneth.

The society has a trainer on site and offers courses to the public at R150 a day. It takes around three weeks to be competent in cane weaving.

If you are interested in taking a course or donating paint or time to revamp the showroom, contact 082 435 7753, 031 202 7277 or kenneth@kznblind.org.za