REEA residents learn new skills and boost self-esteem
Head social worker at REEA Foundation in Craighall Park introduced the residents to new skills of filing and shredding.
A Craighall Park care centre is helping to shred the myth that people living with disabilities are unable to contribute to the economy.
The REEA Foundation is a non-profit organisation that provides a residential care facility for adults living with epilepsy and associated illness. Head social worker Elinor Demetrio said she is passionate about creating employment opportunities for the residents so they can feel purposeful, have their self-esteem boosted and learn new skills.
Wanting to provide a meaningful activity for residents, Demetrio asked a printing company in Craighall to send clients to the foundation should they need documents shredded. One company provided the foundation with five years’ worth of their expired accounting documents for shredding. She said the documents are sorted according to their colour.
“The paper rotates from sorting to removing the staples and then to shredding. The shredded paper is then collected by recycling company Mpact, for which REEA receives a stipend.” The residents love the work and are learning new techniques.
“It gives them purpose and it adds to traditional opportunities offered by sheltered employment workshops. The project is not only uplifting them, but is teaching basic admin work in a safe environment. They’re learning workplace terminologies like bank statements, tax, invoices and more.”
Demetrio explained the main aim of projects such as these is to close the gap between special needs schools and the open labour market to encourage businesses to stop discriminating against people with disabilities. “We tend to focus on teaching a person with a disability how to interact with others, but it’s about time we teach those without disabilities how to interact with persons with disabilities.”
Demetrio said the foundation could shred anyone’s unwanted paper for a donation. “We don’t have a fixed cost, but we welcome a donation, an amount that the potential client can decide upon.” She said the donations will be put towards the purchase of an industrial shredder ‘so that we can expand the project and get more people with disabilities involved’.
The foundation also sells balloons to raise funds for a planned workshop to train beneficiaries in various workplace skills. Details: REEA Foundation 011 788 4745.
Details: REEA Foundation 011 788 4745.
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/370818/reea-foundation-launches-a-computer-lab/
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/272368/community-members-learn-about-epilepsy/
