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Nami's Perspective

Illust by Junko Suzuki
Prop Station, a Nonprofit Social Welfare
Organization Supporting the Challenged.

Quoted from
The Sankei Shimbun
Sunday, September 28th, 2003

     
 

What makes me happy and unhappy

 
 
 
 

From / Nami Takenaka:

 
     

Today, I would like to share what makes me happy and unhappy.

First, let me tell you what disappointed me. During a conference, I talked about an improvement of career opportunities for the Challenged, that is, individuals with disabilities, by using IT (information technology), while they are nursed and being taken care of by others at the same time. They, the Challenged, were not born to be “helped,” but instead it is important for them to set their own goals. And “being employed and actually working” is considered to be that goal by many of the Challenged. These were my points at the conference.

However, after the conference, I heard a male attendant or caretaker of one of the Challenged (possibly a volunteer, or a person from an institution) screaming at the Challenged, saying, “You should not be complaining about your current situation. There are non-disabled being fired from their jobs!”

At the Prop Station, the Challenged are in charge of computer seminars. They not only teach the Challenged, but also the elderly, mothers, and individuals who have been fired and wanting to learn how to use personal computers. All these groups of people are dealing with the same difficulties by “not being employed.”

Japan is about to face an aging society in the near future. It will be impossible to face this serious issue without great support by those who are willing to be employed and be part of society. The Prop Station believes that creating a society where the Challenged with severe disabilities are being employed, will be a model for the next generation when more people have a career and are responsible for society. I strongly hope those around the Challenged do not thwart the hidden potential they have by denying them possibilities.

The thing that made me very happy was news from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. They have decided to support more organizations, like Prop Station, that provide programs for the Challenged to become teleworkers. About twenty organizations across the country will be supported in the first year, and then it is assumed that the number will be increased later.

The program we provide at the Prop Station is like an “experimental plant of teleworking by the Challenged.” We would like to see some improvement in our social system by learning from our success cases of the teleworking.

I will always keep in close contact with those who have the same philosophy and goals as I have.

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