Parents are their children’s first teachers. As children grow, they learn from their parents, not just their ABC’s, but values like respect, compassion, and empathy.
One of the ways we can instill this in children is exposing them to situations that require the application of these values.
Businesses that employ people with disabilities (PWD’s) set a good example for your children and dispel the myth that differently abled people are in any way lesser than most. These businesses conduct awareness trainings for their regular employees to better communicate with their differently abled colleagues. Section 5 of Republic Act 7277, also known as the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, states that PWD’s are entitled to the same rights and benefits that all employees have. So in your child’s interaction with a differently abled person, emphasize that as people and employees, PWD’s deserve the same respect that is owed to everyone your child meets.
Here are some of businesses that employ PWD’s:
- Fruitas
Fruitas Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Fruitas, has a very inclusive labor policy. Included in their count of around 2000 employees are PWD’s, cancer survivors, and illiterate individuals–compensated fairly as mandated by law. This extends to the company’s other businesses, like De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar.
Another beautiful thing about FHI’s employment program is their support of education. They have scholars–children of employees that they support financially in terms of education.
- Southstar Drug
Photo of Southstar Drug Logo from www.southstardrug.com.ph
Of organizations that actively hire PWD’s, Unilab Foundation is one of the most well-known. In fact, its main website is dubbed by some as the “LinkedIn for PWDs.” Unilab Foundation’s Project Inclusion collaborates with different employers in order to produce an impact that starts from the inside-out.
Southstar Drug is one of the participants in this project. They not only actively hire PWD’s, their employees also receive awareness trainings and orientations directly from Unilab Foundation.
- Farron Cafe
Photo of Farron Cafe Logo from www.farroncafe.com.ph
Farron Cafe is a truly unique business in that they have an advocacy in hiring both PWD’s and out-of-school youth. They don’t only create coffee; they create teams, and they create jobs for those who aren’t always welcomed by all careers. Personally, I found Farron Cafe’s advocacy to be truly sincere when I looked through their application requirements, which included a line that says, “with or without working experience.”
It’s so rare for a business to be so upfront in their hiring process. They truly leave their doors open to whoever wants to pass.
- Dunamai Cafe
Photo of Dunamai Logo from www.facebook.com/dunamaicafe/
Dunamai Cafe is one of the projects of The Grain Foundation for PWD Inc. (GFPI). The foundation prides itself in living by the words, “Disability is not to be overcome, but a lifestyle made complete through sharing.”
Dunamai Cafe, Greek for “can” or “to be able to,” is managed and co-owned by PWD’s themselves. Additionally, they not only hire PWD’s, but also educate them. Their employees, their baristas in particular, are graduates from TESDA courses that are held in partnership with GFPI.
- Project Lily PH
Photo of Project Lily Logo from www.facebook.com/projectlilyph/
Project Lily is a project, business, and initiative that promotes ecological sustainability through its main flagship product: the Eco-Uling, an environmentally-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Hand-in-hand with the business’s aim to save the planet, one uling at a time, is its identity as a livelihood project for PWD’s. They are the driving force in the creation of the eco-ulings, as well as the main beneficiary of the project.
Project Lily reminds us that we need not choose to only save one thing. We can always try extending one hand to the planet, and another to humanity.
These are only some of the businesses that actively hire differently abled people. Some others that I know are Shakey’s, Conscious Canvas, and Sodexo.
Let us show our children that the world is different, but also kind; more importantly, that kindness can come from us, and can be in the form of something as simple as patronizing the right businesses.
What about you? What other businesses do you know of?
Patricia Li is a frequent contributor to Familywise Asia and Workwise Asia. She loves to read and write, and tries to incorporate this in her career.
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