Job prospects brighten for disabled Nepalese : NEPAL

 Job ads in Nepal encourage women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply, but few physically challenged people actually submit an application.


*******************************************************Annual job fair showcases skills, employability of the disabled.

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Disabled people register their CVs at the second annual job and career fair for the physically challenged on December 3rd at the World Trade Centre in Kathmandu


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Water Aid Nepal country director Ashutosh Tiwari is hoping to change that.

The sight of a non-handicapped person demonstrating how to construct toilets for physically challenged people at an equity and inclusion workshop in Ethiopia spurred Tiwari into action.

"I wondered: should not a physically challenged person be doing the job?" Tiwari, who also heads the Association of International NGOs in Nepal (AIN), told Khabar South Asia. "Then I realised very few people with disabilities believe such jobs are within their reach, and organisations too do not bother to seek them out."

AIN formed an alliance with the National Federation of the Disabled - Nepal, the Ministry of Women, Social Welfare and Children and other groups. Together, they launched annual job fairs for disabled persons starting in December 2012. Out of 1,000 physically challenged people who attended, 28 found jobs.

The second annual fair was held at Kathmandu's World Trade Centre on December 3rd.

Suraj Thapa, a 25-year-old from Biratnagar, landed a job with Siddhartha Development Bank after attending the inaugural fair.

"I am very happy to be employed and earning for myself," he told Khabar. "The belief that disabled people should stay within the four walls of their houses and be dependent on other people is changing."

This year the fair added coaching services to help applicants write CVs and prepare for interviews. More than 25 stalls showcased products and services created by or catering to disabled people.

"We are planning to hire at least 100 people this time," National Federation of the Disabled-Nepal President Sudarshan Subedi told Khabar.

Similar fairs are being organised for the industrial areas of Biratnagar and Birgunj.

According to National Population and Housing Census 2011, 1.94% of the total population of Nepal, or around 514,000 people, have some kind of disability.

"Life as a physically challenged employee is not easy, but being employed is a remarkable achievement. I am happy that physically challenged people are no more restricted to jobs related to activism only," Amrita Gyawali, a disabled people's rights activist and Water Aid Nepal employee, told Khabar. 

Source :  Khabar South Asia , 24th Jan 2014