NCPD recognises PWD-friendly firms

The national Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) has recognised organisations with the best record of employing persons with disabilities.“We want to appreciate the efforts of organisations that have done a commendable job, as far as employing people with disabilities is concerned,” noted Tuyizere Oswald, the National Council of People with Disabilities director for economic and social empowerment.The awards, which were organised in collaboration with the Rwanda Demobilisation and Re-integration Commission (RDRC) and the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA), were the first of its kind in Rwanda. Five companies, Hotel Muhabura, Huye Mountain Coffee, Faith Victory Association, The Vocational Training Centre of Nyanza and Socorwa, contested for the honour. However, Hotel Muhabura was named the best PDW-friendly company by a panel of judges selected from the Ministry of Public Service and Labour, RDRC, JICA and NCPD at a ceremony at Hilltop Hotel in Remera, Kigali last Friday.The nominated companies were selected basing on four considerations; status of disabled employee, condition of organisation facilities, impact and sustainability on the employee. “My siblings abandoned me and went to Uganda to look for jobs. And for many years, I battled with life, with barely enough food and no medical care. Worse still, every organisation I approached for a job turned me down because I was disabled. I was relieved when Hotel Muhabura employed me...I couldn’t believe it,” Paul Rudakubana, one of the many disabled employees of Hotel Muhabura, narrated his ordeal.This ceremony was part of the mother project called ECOPD (The Skills Training and Job Obtainment Support for Social Participation of Ex-Combatants and Other People with Disabilities), which was initiated in 2011 by JICA and partners, to provide skills, moral and financial support to about 1,500 PWDs and also help them find or create jobs.“Our mission is to promote inclusive and dynamic development. Therefore, we felt it is our obligation, too, to create a friendly-working environment for persons with disabilities because they have a lot of potential and contribute to nation building,” remarked Maho Harada, a JICA expert.