We have visited several QASA projects during our stay in South Africa, particularly self-help centres and digital villages. Yesterday, we spent the day at Green Office, a QASA partner and office supply company that focuses on managing office paper use in an environmentally friendly manner.We toured the facility and met the director of GreenAble, a cartridge collection entrepreneurship program that employs people with disabilities.
GreenAble hires people with disabilities as "agents," who collect ink catridges throughout the country. Green Office reuses many of these cartridges, while recycling those that are not reuseable. The company hires additional people with disabilities to disassemble used cartridges to ensure that the remnants are recyclable. Following our tour, we interviewed several employees.
We were both intrigued by the sustainability and potential of the GreenAble project. Not only will it create jobs for people with disabilities(women, in particular), but they (QASA and Green Office) have developed a model that could possibly work effectively in various companies throughout Africa.
ILR IN SOUTH AFRICA. This blog follows the activities of Chris and Kit, two undergrads at Cornell University, during their summer 2011 service learning internship with the QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA) and the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa (NCPPDSA). This opportunity was sponsored by the Employment and Disability Institute at the ILR School, Cornell.
What a great initiative!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys for the very interesting post! Initiatives like GreenAble are springing up here in the States too--I'd love to hear more about your interviews with employees. Keep it coming--it's fun to read about your experiences.
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