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ST. JOSEPH'S INSTITUTE
Workshop/Centre For Handicapped And Youths
Amaigbo Lane, Uwani, Enugu, Nigeria
GUIDELINE
PURPOSE AND AIMS
The central purpose of St, Joseph's institute is the welfare of people with different forms of disability. That is, the institute will strive at creating an atmosphere in the Nigerian society. which will work against the marginalisation of people with disability. The institute is as such an humanitarian Christian charity organisation. Because of the endemic economic problem in Nigeria, those people with different forms of disability who would have been in the position to fend for themselves have no opportunity to do so. Because of their disability, they have less chances of getting a place to learn a trade (carpentry, tailoring, trading, cooking, typing, handwork, weaving, etc., etc.). Only a few of these people with disability who are lucky to get a secondary school education eventually get office jobs. Those who only had elementary school education or non at all are then left to their fate.
The situation of the females with disability is even worse. The institute will as such give utmost priority to the plight of the females with disabilities. At the same time, 50% of the places for the apprentices has to be reserved for jobless youths. That means, the workshops have to be integrative. Apart from the erection of the workshops/centres (phase one), other areas of social services will later be developed in the institute. The institute will not stop at only giving practical assistance to those with disability and the needy in the society, it will also seek other methods to enhance the philanthropic spirit in the society. This may be in the form of offer constancy services or in the form or organisation of lectures in the areas of social services and their management.
SUSTENANCE
The institute will aim at SELF-SUSTENANCE. Inspite of this aim, the institute should in the long run be in the position to help develop smaller workshops in the remote villages (in the spirit of community based rehabilitation). Children with grave disability who may need only pedagogical therapies should also have a place in the institute. The workshops/centres in the institute will include such that will enable the people with disability learn trades like - CARPENTRY, RADIO/FAN/WATCH REPAIRS, TAILORING, WEAVING, NEEDLE-WORK, COOKERY/RESTAURANTS SERVICES, etc., etc. The jobless youths who will be admitted as apprentices will learn and work with the other youths with disability to foster the integrative spirit.
THE LEADERSHIP
The success of these objectives and of the institute itself depends on the intellectual versatility of the director, and his secretaries. His job is to give directives and control the functions of the various department. He gives clear directive to the departmental instructors through the head of the centres and see to it that due consequence is maintained in the relationship between the various departments. He should not waste time in dismissing any instructor or apprentice who may tarnish the image of the institute through insincerity, disobedience, or lateness. A creative director should be in the position to open up new avenues like - offering evening courses, seminars, constancy service for development projects, lecture etc. e.g. weekend courses on management of social services, or weekend computer course for managers, French course for university student, principle of account for students, etc. etc. Lecturers for such services can be loaned from I.M.T., or Enugu Universities. But this, however, comes as part of the phase two of the institute. Such departments can be in the areas of:
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Human Rights, Social and Democratic Development
- Centre for Cultural and Artistic Development and Exchange, etc.
It will be left to the discretion of the director to open up new avenues or workshops which he feels will be useful to the handicapped and jobless youths.
Such new avenues can also be in the form of CONSULTING:
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That is village groups erecting their projects can consult the institute for advise and when need be for the need connections to reliable partners or sponsors.
- Helping the jobless or handicapped get a job by intervening in companies and government agencies on their behalves is another area of work for the director. This means, with that his secretariat will take time to scout out jobs connected to them for token fees.
- The same will be expected of him in helping the jobless youths looking for rooms to rent. For token fee, the secretariat will scout out for landlords wanting to let out the rooms and get the jobless youths and handicapped who can sincerely afford them) connected to rent such rooms or apartment.
PROJECT ASSISTANCE/FINANCIAL SECRETARY
The director should appoint for himself an assistant who oversees the day to day affairs of the whole compound. The assistant is responsible to see to general punctuality of their workers and apprentices, neatness in the whole compound. He should see to the safety of the properties of the institute. He should have a general inventory of all goods of the institute - chairs, tables, plates, spoons, etc., etc. He should make a monthly control of all items in his inventory. He should make monthly written reports to the director on all his observation. Damages to any item in the institute should taken note of by him and see to the replacement or repairs. He or she control the financial affairs of all the Departments as well as the secretariat.
HEAD OF THE VOCATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE DISABLED AND YOUTH
A head will be appointed for this very important centre. A person with experience in special education and economic co-ordination will be considered for this position. He sees to it that the apprentices are appropriately instructed.
WORKING METHOD
Each of the mentioned workshops will be headed by an instructor. The work of the instructor will be co-ordinated by the Head of Vocational Centre who assists the Director. The project assistant co-ordinate the financial activities.
THE INSTRUCTOR
The instructor is an employed worker who is a master in his own trade - carpentry or sewing, or cooking etc. etc. He is the senior worker. He has to produce. He is no teacher - like in the secondary or primary schools. But he must teach the apprentices by working with them. He is the master. With the apprentices, the instructor should be in a position to make such products or services which will be sold to sustain the institute.
That means each department will have a separate accounts book in which all expenditure, for the salary of the instructor, the pocket money for the apprentices, for the materials needed for their jobs, for the electricity and water used etc. are entered into. All the incomes from sales of materials or services should be entered into the accounts book too.
All department should work to be in the position to cover the running cost of their department and make such gains which will be deposited to the director as reserve to cover the cost of renewing the machineries.
In understanding with the director and the sales manager, the instructors and the director have to do everything possible to get contracts (e.g. to sew school control uniform for other schools, to build tables and chair for schools and colleges, to supply products to institutes, to repair radio, typewriters, fans for ministers etc. etc.)
THE APPRENTICES
The apprentices are the handicapped and the jobless youths who are admitted into the workshops to learn a trade. They are no students and the workshop centre are no technical colleges. The apprentices have 3 years to learn the trade of their choice. The choice of trade must correspond with the possibilities within the institute as will be determined by the director in understanding with the instructor. But the apprentices have to learn all that is required of them within the trade-syllabus within the three years.
After the three years, each apprentice will be examined by a commission of external workers (instructors). If the apprentice is successful, he will be given a certificate of the institute and will be helped by the institute with a loan to build up his own small workshop. If the apprentice is not successful, he will be given a period probation of 3 months to prepare for the next examination. If the 2nd examination is also not successful another 3 months probation will be allowed. After the 6 months probation, and the apprentice is not successful, the director will be only certify that he was in the institute to learn the trade. No loan will be extended to such apprentice.
HANDICAPPED APPRENTICES
Such handicapped apprentices who are really in the position to manage their trade after 3 years apprenticeship will be helped with a loan to found his own workshop. If they are not in a position to work alone, the institute should help such persons find alternatives, either in the form of partnership with other successful apprentices or by finding a job for them.
LOAN TO SUCCESSFUL APPRENTICES
Such loans granted to apprentices should be done on the bases of partnership. That means the successful apprentice who wants to set up a workshop based on the loan granted to him by the institute must accept that the director of the institute has the right to give directive policies which should be implemented in the new workshop. Any attitude which go against what the institute stands for will be dealt with by withdrawing the given loan. Through the partnership the loan will be gradually paid back as will be agreed upon in the letter of agreement.
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