Yesterday, on 10 May, a centre for daytime employment and vocational training for teenagers and young people with disabilities, the “Cup of Kindness”, was opened in Kyiv. In the future, the centre plans to employ people with intellectual disabilities. This was announced by Denys Savchenko, project manager of the League of the Strong.
“The centre has been renovated and the necessary equipment has been purchased. In the first month, more than 40 young people with mental disabilities will be able to spend time here. Social services will be provided here on a daily basis in accordance with the needs of the centre’s wards,” says Denis Savchenko.
The Rodyna Family will coordinate the centre for People with Disabilities NGO, which is a League of the Strong NGO member. Currently, Rodyna provides rehabilitation to 30 people with disabilities regularly. The centre will increase the number of people receiving assistance and the number of services offered.
“A lot of people and organisations have been involved in creating the Hornyatko Dobroty Centre for Day Employment and Vocational Training for Teenagers and Young People with Disabilities. These include charitable foundations, business representatives and NGOs. The families of children and young people with disabilities have also made many efforts to create the centre. Around 30 individuals and legal entities were actively involved in renovating and furnishing. And it all started when our organisation won a competition for public budget projects in Kyiv. Our Centre for Day Employment and Vocational Training of Adolescents and Young People with Disabilities is the result of a great collaboration of many caring people and organisations, and we are glad that we managed to implement it despite all the difficulties,” says Marianna Onufryk, head of the NGO “Rodina”.
For the centre to function fully, the project initiators plan to form an interdisciplinary team soon, implement the best European practices for organising employment and preparing adolescents with disabilities for work, as well as the best practices of Ukrainian rehabilitation centres, NGOs and municipal institutions, and individual specialists.
It is also planned to study the requests of business representatives regarding the necessary work skills that a person with a disability should have. Another area of focus is the creation of workshops for the acquisition of employment skills, including mini-bakeries, pottery, floriculture and the subsequent sale of products made by people with disabilities.
The completion of the centre was made possible through the cooperation of the League of the Strong and the Catalan Development Cooperation Fund, a non-profit organisation made up of city councils and other local governments that allocate part of their budget to fund development cooperation and international solidarity activities. As part of the joint project, more than €12,000 was allocated to repair and equip the centre.