Move to empower visually-impaired

The Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Colombo in association with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) held a ceremony in Vavuniya recently hosted by the Organisation for Rehabilitation of Handicapped (ORHAN) to celebrate the completion of their four month ICT course by five visually impaired trainees from the district.

The majority of the trainees had sustained injuries as a result of the war. For them, this opportunity was not simply learning a new skill. It gave them the opportunity to usher in a new life.

The EFC also made the event an affair to remember by inviting some of Sri Lanka's leading corporations to interview their newly skilled candidates with a view to offering them employment in Vavuniya. Cargills (Ceylon) Plc., Singer (Sri Lanka) Plc., Hatton National Bank, People's Bank and Bank of Ceylon offered their service. Coordinator of the Network on Disability, EFC Meghamali Aluwihare spoke of the EFC's vision to promote social harmony through productive employment and the objective of the EFC's Network for Disability to promote training and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the private sector organizations.

The EFC's training staff Manque Gunaratne trained 63 visually impaired persons at the training centre in Colombo. It will extend the training to other parts of the island.

President of ORHAN, Vavuniya Subramanium said this training course was to be the first of many. He requested government bodies as well as the private sector to continue their support. "ORHAN is working to make Vavuniya a disabled friendly district and this programme is just part of a five year strategy commencing in 2012."

The course was also applauded by guests from the Labour Department, the District Social Service and the Government Agency in Vavuniya. "It is important that we do not discriminate when it comes to job recruitment and it is of utmost importance to give people equal rights. Our duty is to ensure their progress in society." said Assistant Commissioner of Labour Vavuniya Leeladedi Ananthanadarajah.