Helping them help themselves
Niki Moore
There’s a famous story about a man whose car breaks down just outside a mental institution.?A passer-by comes to his aid, spots the problem immediately and fixes the engine.
Once the car is purring smoothly, the passer-by mentions casually that he is resident in the institution. “But, but,” stammers the astonished motorist, “you have just done a wonderful job of repairing my car.”?The passer-by fixes him with a steady look and says:?”I may be mad, but I’m not stupid.” The story more or less sums up the general public attitude to people with mental handicaps or other functional disabilities.
“People mustn’t think that just because our children and employees are mentally handicapped they can’t learn new things,” says Marcelle Peuckert, marketing director for the Oasis Association for the Mentally Handicapped.
She should know.?Peuckert has been working with more than 400 mentally handicapped people for more than a year, and has found the experience humbling and rewarding.
The Oasis Association was established in 1952 in Claremont, Cape Town, to provide facilities for children with a mental handicap. Its work has subsequently expanded to include job-creation programmes for adults and children alike, which have had some unexpected benefits.
“We have found that when they don’t have work, they get bored and frustrated,” says Marcelle.?”But when they do have work they blossom into very happy people.”
The association has established two workshops in Elsies River and Claremont where the employees do various types of semi-skilled and unskilled labour.?These are adults over the age of 18 who would face enormous problems finding jobs in the open labour market.
The most successful labour-creating project has been recycling. “We have a truck that goes out to various clients, schools and households to collect waste like paper, glass, clear plastic and cans,” explains Peuckert.
“The waste is brought back to the workshops, where it is sorted and made ready for collection. Sometimes people come to our workshops to deliver waste to be sorted.
“The fact that our employees go out to the public, and the fact that the public come here, is extremely valuable.?It has created an interface that is extremely educational for both sides.
“There is almost a normal interaction between our employees and the general public, and apart from anything else, this is great for people’s self-respect and self-esteem.”
Some 500 households, 18 businesses, schools and restaurants bring their waste into the workshops for recycling
The association collects and sorts more than 374 tons of waste paper a year, which is recycled by Sappi.?Their annual quota of 16 tons of cans for recycling have assured them a merit bonus from Collect-a-Can every year. About four tons of glass goes to Consol.
The value of the Oasis recycling project has been applauded by the Cape Town municipality, which estimates that the 400 tons of waste recycled by the association every year saves 1 122m2 of landfill and approximately 6 358 trees.
Funds generated make Oasis less dependent on donor funding and hand-outs to run their other facilities.?Apart from the workshops, there are four homes to care for mentally handicapped people.
In total, Oasis cares for more than 500 people, ranging from children and young adults who are only slightly handicapped to people who would never be able to function normally in society.
Oasis tries to prepare those who are only slightly handicapped to take their place in the world, while creating a refuge for those who will never be able to look after themselves.
The income generated by the work they do pays for their upkeep. This is also a valuable factor, as the young adults are made aware that they are, effectively, supporting themselves.
The economic value of the Oasis project is easy to quantify.?But the most priceless asset is the human factor.
“The uniqueness of our project lies in the fact that we create jobs for a vulnerable and marginalised group,” says Peuckert.?”We generate income, provide positive social and economic benefits, and create a valuable interface between our people and the public.?
“We have seen real friendships develop between our people and members of the public.?It is lovely to watch.”
Community Projects Winner
Winner: Oasis Association’s Recycling Project
Prize: R10 000, sponsored by Total SA
Judges’ comments: “This is the friendly face of environmentalism. Here is a project that is not only helping the environment by recycling 400 tons of waste a year, but is helping some of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society.
“It is creating an interface between mentally handicapped people and the general public, making both richer through the experience.”