Showing posts with label PROUD-project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PROUD-project. Show all posts

Monday, 6 June 2022

2022-2024 PROUD Canteen. Business plan.

2022-2024 PROUD Canteen. Business plan.

PROUD Canteen vers geschilderd

De komende jaren willen we onze studenten inleiden in het arbeidsleven.”PROUD Canteen” wil het favoriete cafetaria worden van de buurt. Het is de bedoeling onze jong volwassenen tewerk te stellen in een normale arbeidsomgeving.

We hebben veel tijd gestoken in het ontwikkelen van het business plan van PROUD Canteen (1). Wat staat er in dit plan?

We gaan eerst op zoek naar welk type restaurant we willen uitbaten. Hoofdstuk 1 somt criteria op die helpen restaurants te onderscheiden / karakteriseren. In Hoofdstuk 2 kiezen we voor een type restaurant en omschrijven we hoe PROUD Canteen er gaat uitzien.

Hoofdstuk 3 beschrijft het business plan. Aan bod komen onze visie en missie, onze produkten en diensten, de verantwoordelijkheden van de personeelsleden en de marketing aspecten. We ronden af met een SWOT-analyse en eindbeschouwingen.

De visie in een notedop: volwaardige jobs aanbieden aan onze jongvolwassenen met een verstandelijke beperking in een volwaardige werkomgeving (sociale onderneming). We willen een “community canteen” (cafetaria stijl) uitbouwen waar mensen uit de buurt iets kunnen gebruiken.

We gaan voor een cafetaria-stijl menu. We willen het grootste deel van de snacks en dranken zelf klaar maken. We hebben ervoor gekozen geen alcoholische dranken aan te bieden. We gaan resoluut voor de Oegandese keuken en het in de buurt vertrouwde dieet -dat betekent veel groenten en weinig vlees. Het plan bevat een uitgewerkt menu, aangekondigd als “homemade, fresh and healthy.”

We gaan de Canteen een modern uitzicht geven met frisse kleuren en een culturele touch. Aan de blinde muur komt een foto expositie. We hebben de indeling van de ruimte reeds bepaald. Bij de ingang staat de “counter”, waar klanten kunnen zien wat wordt aangeboden en hun bestelling kunnen plaatsen. Take away is ook mogelijk. Bij goed weer kunnen klanten ook op het grasveldje voor de canteen zitten.

De taken voor het bestuur, management, het personeel voor de zaal en de keuken en de begeleiding van de werknemers met een beperking worden uitgebreid besproken. De nieuwe uitdagingen zijn minstens even groot voor de begeleiders als voor de studenten. Denken we maar aan de taken van de manager: we bespreken operationeel, personeel, stock, financieel, marketing en informatie technologie management.

De studenten-weknemers worden begeleid door job coaches. Er wordt veel aandacht besteed aan het laten groeien van de werknemers in hun taak. We willen een aanmoedigend werkklimaat creëren: het komt erop aan dat de begeleiders hun ondersteuning en interventies goed kiezen en doseren. De werking van de canteen wordt heel geleidelijkaan uitgebouwd.

In de marketing paragraaf bekijken we de klassieke elementen: product, prijs, plaats en promotie. We bieden zowel ‘take away’ als ter plaatse consumeren aan. De prijs moet competitief zijn. We hebben met aandacht gekeken naar de buurt en potentiële klanten. We zullen potentiële klanten reeds uitnodigen voor een kennismaking in de proefperiode.

We situeren de ‘canteen’ binnen het business landschap van Kabale en willen ons profileren als sociale onderneming. Een SWOT-analyse doet ons ook oog hebben voor onze zwakke kanten. Een aandachtspunt is zeker het gebrek aan ervaring van het team met handel drijven. We hebben zaken(mensen) geïdentificeerd waar we van kunnen leren. We hebben ook een gedetailleerd budget uitgewerkt.

De Canteen is een belangrijk element in het openen van het project naar de bredere samenleving. Het betrekken van de gemeenschap, voortgezette aandacht voor het welzijn van onze werknemers en een goede job coaching zijn de kritische factoren voor succes.

We mogen alvast rekenen op de zeer gewaardeerde steun van de Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen om dit deelproject uit te werken.

(1) Peeters Leon |& Kiconco Marcey, PROUD Canteen. Planning for a commerecial restaurant involving adolescents with intellectual disabilities. WORK UG Training centre, 2021, 35 pp.


2022-2024 PROUD Canteen. Business plan.

PROUD Canteen binnenaanzicht in april 2021

In the coming years, we want to introduce our students to working life.”PROUD Canteen” aims to become the neighborhood's favorite cafeteria. The aim is to employ our young adults in a normal working environment.

We spent a lot of time developing PROUD Canteen's business plan (1). What's in this plan?

We first look for the type of restaurant we want to run. Chapter 1 lists criteria that help distinguish/characterize restaurants. In Chapter 2 we choose a type of restaurant and describe what PROUD Canteen will look like.

Chapter 3 describes the business plan. Our vision and mission, our products and services, the responsibilities of the employees and the marketing aspects are discussed. We conclude with a SWOT analysis and final considerations.

The vision in a nutshell: offering full-fledged jobs to our young adults with intellectual disabilities in a fully-fledged working environment (social enterprise). We want to build a “community canteen” (cafeteria style) where people from the neighborhood can consume a snack and a drink.

We go for a cafeteria style menu. We want to prepare most of the snacks and drinks ourselves. We have chosen not to offer alcoholic beverages. We are resolutely going for Ugandan cuisine and the familiar diet – that means lots of vegetables and little meat. The plan includes a detailed menu, billed as “homemade, fresh and healthy.”

We are going to give the Canteen a modern look with fresh colors and a cultural touch. There will be a photo exhibition on the blank wall. We have already determined the layout of the room. At the entrance is the “counter”, where customers can see what is on offer and place their order. Take away is also possible. In good weather, customers can also sit on the lawn in front of the canteen.

The tasks for the board, the management, the staff for the hall and the kitchen are listed. The supervision of employees with disabilities is discussed. The new challenges are at least as great for the supervisors as for the students. Just think of the tasks of the manager: we discuss operational, personnel, stock, financial, marketing and information technology management.

The student workers are supervised by job coaches. A lot of attention is paid to letting the employees grow in their job. We want to create an encouraging workplace climate: it is important that the counselors choose and dose their support and interventions well. The operation of the canteen is expanded very gradually.

In the marketing section we look at the classic elements: product, price, place and promotion. We offer both 'take away' and on-site consumption. The price must be competitive. We carefully looked at the neighborhood and potential customers. We will already invite potential customers for an introduction during the trial period.

We situate the 'canteen' within Kabale's business landscape and want to profile ourselves as a social enterprise. A SWOT analysis also makes us aware of our weaknesses. One area of ​​concern is certainly the team's lack of trading experience. We have identified bussinesses (managers) from whom we can learn. We have also worked out a detailed budget.

The Canteen is an important element in opening the project to the wider society. Good management practices, increased community involvement, continuous attention to the well-being of our employees and effective job coaching are the critical factors for success.

We can already count on the much appreciated support of the Province of East Flanders to develop this sub-project.

(1) Peeters Leon |& Kiconco Marcey, PROUD Canteen. Planning for a commerecial restaurant involving adolescents with intellectual disabilities. WORK UG Training centre, 2021, 35 pp.

Friday, 3 June 2022

Productieve activiteiten/productive activities: skills training (2021)

Productieve activiteiten: skills training

WORK UG is sinds geruime tijd bezig met het bouwen aan een functioneel curriculum voor kinderen en jongvolwassenen met een verstandelijke beperking. Ze leren vaardigheden die ze binnen hun leefmilieu nodig hebben, nu en in de toekomst.

Voor een deel komt het neer op het formaliseren van wat kinderen doorgaans leren in het gezin: voor zichzelf zorgen, helpen in het huishouden, zich bewegen in de sociale omgeving b.v. sporten… Het dagelijks leven vormt de inspiratiebron voor het programma.

Voor de jongvolwassenen komt daar ‘werken’ bij. Het programma ‘productieve activiteiten’ focust op huishoudelijke vaardigheden -koken, bakken, tuinieren, dieren houden. Voor de jongeren van PROUD Uganda is het tegelijkertijd een stap in de voorbereiding op het werken in het cafetaria.

Voor elk onderdeel, b.v. koken of tuinieren, is nagedacht over welke vaardigheden de jongeren moeten leren. Per individu wordt gekeken hoever hij/zij staat en wat de werkpunten zijn.

De jongeren zitten geregeld samen met de begeleiders om allerlei aspecten van het programma te bespreken. B.v. wat ga je in jouw tuintje kweken? Wat zullen we volgende week bakken?

Elk groeplid houdt een fotoalbum bij. Dat maakt het gemakkelijk om het programma ook met de ouders te bespreken.

Productive activities: skills training

WORK UG has been building a functional curriculum for children and young adults with intellectual disabilities for some time now. They learn skills they need within their environment, now and in the future.

In part it comes down to formalizing what children usually learn in the family: taking care of themselves, helping with the household, moving around in the social environment e.g. sports… Daily life is the source of inspiration for the programme.

For the young adults, 'working' is added. The productive activities program focuses on household skills - cooking, baking, gardening, keeping animals. For the young adults of PROUD Uganda it is also a step in preparation for working in the cafeteria.

For each part, e.g. cooking or gardening, thought has been given to which skills the young people should learn. For each individual it is checked how far he/she stands and what the working points are.

The young adults regularly meet with the counselors to discuss various aspects of the program. E.g. what are you going to grow in your garden? What shall we bake next week?

Each group member keeps a photo album. This makes it easy to discuss the program with the parents as well.

Dieren houden / keeping animals (2021)

Leeractiviteiten 2021 

Productieve activiteiten: konijnen en varkens kweken

Varkens oppassen. Bridget.

Bezig zijn met dieren is een heel fijne activiteit voor jongeren met een verstandelijke beperking. Bijvoorbeeld: groen bij elkaar zoeken voor de konijnen en ze voederen is mijn taak. Ik ben elke dag op post… De dieren horen mij aankomen. Soms gebeurt er een wonder: een nest jongen. Dat is een belevenis op zich.

Varkens houden. Sarah en Mercy.

Zorgend bezig zijn. Daar hebben we allemaal behoefte aan. Op kleine of op grotere schaal. De varkens uitlaten en hoeden. Leuk toch? Of het varkentje wassen! Letterlijk dan. We zien ze groeien.


Het varkentje wordt gewassen. Progress en Bridget.

De koten proper houden hoort er ook bij. In het begin stonden ze nog op hun sletsen te kuisen maar al vlug werd overgeschakeld naar botten en een grondiger aanpak.

Varkens zijn geen toevallige keuze. Kekubo, onze buurt, is gekend voor zijn restaurants waar je varkensbrochetten kan eten. Mensen komen uit andere delen van de stad om hier te eten.

Productive activities: breeding rabbits and pigs

Working with animals is a very nice activity for young people with intellectual disabilities. For example: gathering greenery for the rabbits and feeding them is my job. I'm on post every day… The animals hear me coming. Sometimes a miracle happens: a nest of young rabbits. That is an experience in itself.

Keeping rabbits. Ignatious.

Be caring. We all need that. On a small or larger scale. Letting the pigs out and herding. Nice isn’t it? Or wash the pig! Literally then. We see them grow.

Keeping the rooms clean is also part of it. In the beginning they were still on their slippers to clean, but soon they switched to boots and a more thorough approach.

Pigs are not an accidental choice. Kekubo, our neighborhood, is known for its restaurants where you can eat pork. People come from other parts of the city to eat here.

Koken en bakken / cooking and baking (2021)

Leeractiviteiten 2021

Productieve activiteiten: koken en bakken

Vuur maken. Bridget.
We beschouwen koken ook als productieve activiteit omdat koken waarde toevoegt aan de producten die we kopen of uit de tuin halen. Koken en bakken zijn belangrijke huishoudelijke vaardigheden. In de toekomst gaan we ook koken en bakken voor de klanten van de cafetaria.

Kool snijden. Praise en Apophia.

Koken richtte zich eerst op traditioneel Oegandese gerechten zoals bijvoorbeeld posho en groundnuts sauce, later ook op meer moderne gerechten zoals frieten bakken of pannekoeken maken. Met de Oegandese ‘chapati’ (zoute pannekoeken) zitten we al op de overgang naar bakken.

Deeg maken

Het bakken gebeurt nog op de traditionele manier. Het gaat vooral om frituren. Voorbeelden zijn mandazi en samosa. Onze jongeren zien ze in de winkel liggen en beleven nu het plezier van ze zelf te maken! Ingrediënten klaar zetten; deeg maken; frituren, opdienen en smullen maar.

Productive activities: cooking and baking
Preparing posho

We also view cooking as a productive activity because cooking adds value to the produce we buy or take from the garden. Cooking and baking are important household skills. In the future we will also cook and bake for the customers of the cafeteria.

Preparing omelet

Cooking first focused on traditional Ugandan dishes such as posho and groundnut sauce, later also on more modern dishes such as frying chips or making pancakes. With the Ugandan 'chapati' (salty pancakes) we are already on the transition to baking.

PROUD bakery

Baking is still done in the traditional way. It's mainly about frying. Examples are mandazi and samosa. Our youngsters see them in the store and now experience the pleasure of making them themselves! Prepare ingredients; make dough; fry, serve and enjoy.

Preparing mandazi


Tuinieren / gardening (2021)

Leeractiviteiten 2021

Productieve activiteiten: tuinieren

Tuinieren: meststof voor de tuin

Elk jaar maken we vooruitgang met tuinieren. Oefening baart kunst.

Het project heeft een grote tuin waarin we groenten en fruit kweken. Daarnaast heeft elke leerling zijn individueel tuintje waarin hij/zij begeleid wordt bij het kweken van zelf gekozen groenten. De opbrengst mag de leerling mee naar huis nemen.

Tuinieren: aardappelen rooien

Zelf ben ik een leek in tuinieren. In grote lijnen zie ik dat er heel wat werk is met het klaar maken en bemesten van de grond. Vervolgens worden er plantjes aangekocht of ze worden overgebracht van het eigen zaaibed.

We hebben een grote watertank en de kinderen van groep 1 die nog niet voluit deelnemen aan het bewerken van de tuin helpen bij het gieten van de planten. De tropische warmte gecombineerd met water doen de planten omhoog schieten.

Ik sta verbaasd hoe de grond en het klimaat invloed hebben op het eindproduct. Oogsten is natuurlijk één van de plezantste zaken. De schooltuin heeft een positieve invloed op de samenstelling van de maaltijden van de kinderen. Meer groenten en meer variatie.

Extra luxe biedt het fruit: we kweekten o.a. passievruchten en aardbeien.

Tuinieren: fruit

Productive activities: gardening

Every year we make progress with gardening. Step by step we’re becoming specialists.

The project has a large garden in which we grow fruit and vegetables. In addition, each student has his individual garden in which he / she is growing self-chosen vegetables. The student may take home the proceeds.

Gardening: beans

I myself am a layman in gardening. Broadly speaking I see that there is a lot of work with preparing and fertilizing the soil. After we purchase plants or transfer them from our own seedbed.

We have a large water tank and the children of group 1 who do not yet fully participate in working the garden help with the pouring of the plants. The tropical heat combined with water makes the plants shoot up.

Enjoy the fruits of PROUD garden

I am amazed at how the soil and climate affect the final product. Harvesting is of course fun. The school garden has a positive influence on the composition of the children's meals. They eat more different vegetables.

The fruit offers extra luxury: we grew passion fruit and strawberries, among others.



Sunday, 22 August 2021

Het PROUD project van vroeger tot nu (3)

Kalken Mondiaal. WORK Uganda.

Uit het leven gegrepen


 
wijdverbreid in Oeganda en ook toegepast bij ons: droogbonen kloppen

Het project vertrekt steeds van de rijkdom aan bestaande Oegandese praktijken. Wat doorgaans geleerd wordt in het gezin of in de gemeenschap wordt in het project voor jongeren met een verstandelijke beperking tot een boeiend onderwijsprogramma gemaakt. Het curriculum kreeg als titel: “uit het leven gegrepen”. Wat de kinderen/jongeren leren is direct nuttig, bevordert hun persoonlijke groei, hun participatie in het gezin en in de gemeenschap. Onze jongeren zijn fier dat ze mee tellen en wij zijn fier op hen. Vandaar de naam PROUD-project.

de nieuwste hype in het PROUD project varkens oppassen en zelfs wassen


Thursday, 9 January 2020

Harvesting sukumawiki

Harvesting sukumawiki
At Proud Uganda sukumawiki is grown in the garden and it yields much. Ignitious and Sarah like harvesting the sukumawiki. Sukumawiki is a leafy vegetable and it’s enrich with vitamin A. This sukumawiki also improves on the balanced diet of the children of the project. Therefore children at the project are healthy due to the fact that they feed on vegetables. The project not only grows sukumawiki but also a variety of other vegetables such as broccoli, cabbages, cauliflowers, spinach, black night shed and many others.

By Kiki

Mission 13 Project transition from school to work

Preparing traditional dishes

I held discussions with the gardener, Immaculate, the external gardening consultant, Ronald and the cook, Apophia, about the progress of the "Transition from school to work project". This project is supported by the Province of East Flanders and focuses on teaching skills related to gardening and cooking.

With Mercy and Josephine, the project leader and her assistant, I look at the reporting on the transition project. This week we are working on the profiles of the 5 students involved and their individual action plans.

Gardening
To evaluate the progress made by the students, we fill in the "Gardening skills questionnaire" and the "Cooking skills questionnaire" together with the teachers and the students.

Information about the progress of the transition project can be found in the quarterly reports of PROUD Uganda and in the minutes of meetings with the parents.

To engage the students well, there are individual conversations, group discussions and photo albums. Each participant keeps an album with photos of activities in the kitchen, the garden and others e.g. meetings, pick up a report, etc.

Photo albums transition project


Sunday, 24 November 2019

Starting a community?

Arinda and Sarah
Yesterday evening I was chatting with Rose, former director of l’ Arche Uganda. And this morning with Blessed, a Reverend’s daughter. It made me think I want to explore the idea of starting a community to take the PROUD project forward. That would be a different approach from the strictly professional approach that we are adopting now.

Years ago I was reading a book of Henri Nouwen on his friendship with Adam, a resident in one of the many Arch communities. Just like Nouwen I’m convinced and I experienced that persons with intellectual disabilities are our neighbors and can teach us so many things.

They put me on the way of that community idea and I would like to find out how it can be combined with a ‘pro poor’ strategy. Many non disabled people in Uganda don’t have what to live from but you may find they have a golden heart!

Joseph and Praise
If you want to know more about l’Arche google Jean Vanier. He is the founder of l’Arche and has given many interviews.

If you want to help us with that community idea, take contact please! See page Contacts.





Monday, 11 November 2019

MISSION 13 Main objective: to make the project sustainable

Mission 13 is aimed at making the project more sustainable. In recent years the project has been expanded at a rapid pace with great external support, but sustainability requires managing capacity within the project and a budget that can be maintained over the long term.

Unit 1 of PROUD Village
In the project we work with a management scheme, annual work plans and plans for specific projects. In the working with the children, the activity schedules and the individual action plans are key instruments. We also pay a lot of attention to operational planning, in particular to the development and implementation of the curriculum. We are therefore adepts of the management and planning approach.

Financially we have set the operating budget - staff and current expenses - at 2 million Ush (500 Euro) per month for ten students. Project management must work out a balanced budget and eventually decide on saving measures. Investments, e.g. building projects, are treated separately, as specific projects with their own budget. Nevertheless the project will still remain dependent on external support. This will be the case as long as Ugandan state doesn’t provide the necessary subvention.

A part of the vegetable garden of WORK UG
Progressively, the project must generate its own income. This direction must be visible in the planning. We plan for a vegetable garden, breeding chickens and rabbits, baking ourselves, making jams, set up childcare, a home stay and a canteen with meeting, workshop and party facilities and a flower shop.

Preparatory steps have already been taken for most of the aforementioned activities. The home stay will aim at welcoming tourists. We can already make 2 double rooms with sanitary facilities available to visitors!

Translation to Dutch:

MISSIE 13 Hoofddoel: het project duurzaam maken

Missie 13 is gericht op het bestendigen van het project. De voorbije jaren is het project met veel steun van buitenaf aan een hoog tempo uitgebouwd, maar duurzaamheid vereist ‘managing capacity’ in de schoot van het project en een budget dat kan worden aangehouden over de lange termijn.

In het project werken we met een managementschema, jaarlijkse werkplannen en plannen voor specifieke projecten. In de werking met de kinderen zijn de activiteitenroosters en de individuele handelingsplannen sleutel-instrumenten. We besteden ook veel aandacht aan operationele planning, in het bijzonder aan het uitwerken en in praktijk brengen van het curriculum. We zijn dus adepten van de managements- en plannings-benadering.

Financieel hebben we het werkingsbudget -personeel en lopende uitgaven- vastgelegd op 2 miljoen Ush (500 Euro) per maand voor tien leerlingen. Het project-management moet een sluitende begroting uitwerken en waar nodig besparingsmaatregelen uitwerken. Investeringen worden apart behandeld, als specifieke projecten met een eigen budget. Het project is dan nog altijd afhankelijk van hulp van buitenaf. Dat zal zo blijven zolang de Oegandese staat geen subsidie voorziet.

Progressief moet het project voor eigen inkomsten zorgen, maar op dit ogenblik is dat nog te vroeg. Deze richting moet wel in de planning te zien zijn. We denken dan aan de eigen tuin, het kweken van kippen en konijnen, zelf bakken, confituur maken, kinderopvang, home stay, kantine, vergader-, workshop- en partyfaciliteiten en een bloemenshop.

Voor de meeste van de voornoemde activiteiten zijn al voorbereidende stappen gezet. De homestay zal vooral gericht zijn naar toeristen. We kunnen nu al 2 tweepersoonskamers met sanitair ter beschikking stellen van bezoekers!

Wednesday, 21 August 2019

Year theme cooking: Sarah preparing ground nuts

Sarah cooking
Sarah is a student of group 3 at Proud Uganda. She feels happy when she finds herself in the kitchen cooking. When it’s her time on the timetable to be in the kitchen to prepare food she is all the time smiling. She says am the “boss”. She enjoys preparing groundnuts and rice.

My first day at PROUD Uganda by Tumusiime Annet



It was Monday 14/01/2019 when I arrived at Proud Uganda. I came early in the morning, I found a lady sitting in group one class. We greeted each other and she welcomed me well. I introduced myself to her and she answered me that she is called Asiimwe Apophia.

I asked her about the activities which are carried out in the project, she explained everything to me and later she took me around the project. She showed me group one class and group two which has a shop inside, she showed me bathrooms, toilets and changing room and they were so nice with uniform tiles.

She explained to me about the big building that it was to be used as a restaurant. We went to the kitchen and it was so smart with sinks, tiles from top to bottom. She told me that small buildings which were unfinished were to be used as bakery and home stay.

She took me to the garden and told me that Immaculate is responsible for the gardens. I found sugarcane, vegetables for example sukumawick and cabbages.

Later other skills trainers came and the children also. I introduced myself to them and they also introduced themselves to me. The assistant manager who is called Madam Twesigyemukama Josephine showed me the children I will be teaching. The staff was so cooperative.

What surprised me were the lessons which are done at Proud Uganda and I had never seen them for example cognitive games, watering, serving food by children from group 2, setting tables and gardening.

My first day at Proud Uganda was so interesting and it ended well, I went home at 5:00 pm.

I remain Tumusiime Annet.

Curriculum development


Since 2016 we are developing a curriculum for children and youngsters with intellectual disabilities. We got financial help from The Province of East Flanders (Belgium).

In 2016 we studied on how to make a curriculum.

A curriculum for children and youngsters with intellectual disabilities needs to be functional for the actual and future situation of the children. So: focus is not on academics, but on life skills!

In 2017 we wrote down the core curriculum.

The curriculum for CwID is divided in 4 parts:

1. Self care;

2. Participation in family life;

3. Participation in community life;

4. Economic participation.


Some examples of each section:

-self care: toilet training; menstrual hygiene; eating habits; dress and appearance…

-participation in family life: respecting parents; cooking; cleaning; sexual education…

-participation in community life: expressing yourself; use of mobile phone; shopping; church attendance…

-economic participation: gardening; animal keeping; baking; flower shop…

In total more then 60 subjects!


For more details look in the brochure ‘Curriculum issues’ from WORK UG Training centre.


Mission 12: in service training PROUD UG staff


Team PROUD UG: Apophia, Josephine, Mercy, Immaculate, Annet

We have been much more explicit than before with the training of staff. In the month of May there was training every day from 4 to 5 p.m.

We organized trainings on "curriculum issues", "toilet training", "personal hygiene" including "menstrual hygiene" and "dress and appearance".

Each topic took approximately one week (five times one hour). For each topic, we also looked at the practice in the project and improvements we can make.

Tuesday, 20 August 2019

Mission 12: the WORK UG file folder

'Great things are done by a series of small things that are brought together'

Jimmy Okwonga from AD Consult
At the time the first modules of the curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities were ready, we decided to make a file folder to distribute them. Because it was not possible to find an advanced printing company in Kabale, we were looking for a partner in Kampala. 

Big printing machine on small picture 😉
Jimmy Okwonga from AD Consult turned out to be the right partner. Jimmy organized the entire process from exploring what we needed to packing the folders. We worked together on the design, I had the opportunity to visit the company where they printed the folders and saw how others were cutting them. 
           
File folder quality control
The outcome is a nice file folder with images of the PROUD project.

Mission 12: visit to the "First national skills fair"


The "First national skills fair" took place at UMA shouwground in Lugogo, Kampala. Since teaching skills is the main task of PROUD UG and WORK UG, we could not miss this scholarship.

We went there to listen to the presentations and were not disappointed. Erwin De Wandel, Head of the Belgian cooperation in Uganda, finished his speech saying: “It is not only about creating jobs, but about creating decent jobs leading to decent lives. It's about lives of men and women, leaving no one behind, nor the vulnerable or the disabled.”

The PROUD project works in that line. We see participating in fully-fledged economic activities and environments as the best strategy to value people with intellectual disabilities.

In the margin of the "skills fair" we also visited the "Uganda Private Sector Foundation" and more specifically the offices of the "Skills development facility". SDF sponsors skills training for various categories of workers.

Mission 12: start "Transition from school to work" project

This year we are starting a new project in collaboration with the Belgian Province of East Flanders, namely: “Transition from school to work. Phase 1: productive activities (program 2019-2021). Vocational education, young people with intellectual disabilities. "

The project was favorably assessed by the Province: "project with a clear goal and vision to integrate young people with disabilities into the normal work field."

In 2019 we will be working with the young people especially on cooking traditional Ugandan dishes and gardening.

For gardening, we are entering into a partnership with an external horticultural company: Mbabazi Ronald comes to work one morning (two hours) every week with our gardening teacher Immaculate and five youngsters with intellectual disabilities. He will also help with the planning of the garden.

The responsible teacher for cooking is Apophia.

The project is managed by Mercy (manager of WORK UG) with the help of Josephine.

Participants transition project

The team discussed the philosophy of the project, the activities to be set up in 2019 and the results to be achieved. A first meeting with all people involved - students, gardening and cooking skills trainers, external collaborator Owembabazi Ronald and the project management - took place in April.

Mission 12: founding CBO WORK UG

The office with certificates from District of Kabale and Southern Division approving our activities

We have established a second association under the name ‘WORK Uganda’. She has similar statutes as PROUD UG, but PROUD UG is concerned with 'appropriate education' for children and young people with intellectual disabilities and WORK UG will be working on the ‘employment’ of adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities. WORK UG also wants to organize training courses for third parties on the coaching of people with intellectual disabilities.

WORK UG has received a certificate of registration from Kabale District Local Government as a Community Based Organization (CBO) on 11/3/2019 under number 14006. The CBO is recognized to undertake the following activities:

-to create job opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities;

-establish social enterprises where people with intellectual disabilities can work;

-organize vocational training and job coaching for people with intellectual disabilities;

-organize exchanges and training courses on work for people with an intellectual disability (WORK UG Training center).


It is assumed that the basis is laid for future activities of a productive and commercial nature that will lead to employment for our young adults.

Thursday, 28 March 2019

Mission 11 Program 2019: transition from school to work

PROUD project has 2 groups:
-group 1 focusing on self care;
-group 2 focusing on household activities.

From 2019 we will start with group 3 focusing on “economic activities”. We will teach productive and commercial activities to our youngsters. In the first year the focus will be on gardening and cooking. We will welcome some specialists from outside the project to work with our children and teachers.

Vzw The village is seeking support from the Province of East Flanders to finance this project. Follow future developments on this blog.

Mission 11 Workshop for professionals: curriculum issues

In November we invited a select group of professionals to discuss the progress we made with curriculum project. We discussed with them a questionnaire inspired by the core curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities (CwID) which can be used as an assessment instrument. We also looked at the final text about ‘Menstrual hygiene’ as an example of how we will develop all curriculum topics. We ended the morning with a discussion about curriculum dissemination issues.

In the afternoon we addressed training youngsters with intellectual disabilities (YwID) for work. The basic assumption is that YwID take most profit from partial involvement in normal work activities in normal work environments.