Though not formalised, there is an underlying philosophy that informs much of the work Flow does: we do work we love with people we love to make a difference in the world.
Working with the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), a non-profit organisation that has championed the cause of persons with disabilities for the past 75 years, falls squarely within this ambit. Flow committed to providing public relations services for the NCPD in 2016.
There are an estimated seven million South Africans with some form of disability and the vision of the NCPD is to work towards an inclusive society where persons with disabilities have equal access to economic and social opportunities.
To achieve this, the NCPD focuses primarily on advocacy, the integration of persons with disabilities into South African society and ensuring access to economic opportunities, and changing perceptions through sensitisation and awareness programmes.
One of the NCPD’s many affiliates is the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities (APD), which has nine offices throughout South Africa that receive a partial subsidy from the Department of Social Development.
The KwaZulu-Natal branch – established in 1967 in Chatsworth – is recognised as the largest NGO in that province that renders services to disabled people.
Thanks to the vision and dedication of its founder members, the APD currently has community service centres in Chatsworth, Chesterville, Austerville, KwaMashu, Inanda, Umzinto, Mpumalanga, Phoenix, Pietermaritzburg and Tongaat.
Among other benefits, these service centres provide protective workshops where community members with disabilities learn basic skills in order to earn a stipend.
I was recently invited to see what attendees do at the Chatsworth centre.
The groups were small but the workshop was busy, with beadwork, sewing, assembling and packaging of taps keeping everyone occupied. Since the NCPD and its affiliates are only partly funded, the maintenance of such workshops relies on income derived from annual fundraising events, the largest of which is Casual Day, which this year takes place on 1 September.
