Enable New Zealand, one of the largest providers of disability services in New Zealand, celebrates International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Friday, December 3rd.

Enable New Zealand General Manager, Heather Browning says: “Ensuring we have a workforce that’s inclusive and representative of the communities in which we live is important at Enable New Zealand. Our practice of recruiting disabled people into our workforce is as much about the opportunity for a person with a disability to have employment as it is about other staff working alongside disabled people.

“To share a work place is to share a significant aspect of one’s life and in doing so allows other staff to gather greater insight into the ordinariness of diversity and the need for inclusion.

“Ten percent of Enable New Zealand’s workforce has an impairment and many of these staff require specific support to fully participate in their roles. It’s what we do at Enable New Zealand.”

Enable New Zealand provides services to support disabled people, such as equipment, housing modifications and disability information. Disabled people are supported to be independent in their day-to-day activities, participate in the community and lead full lives, as much as possible.

It has been a big week for the disabled community. The 2010 Attitude Awards which showcase the fantastic achievements of New Zealanders with disabilities were held in Auckland on Wednesday.

“It’s very important to raise the profile of the achievements of disabled people in many arenas throughout our communities. Congratulations to the Attitude Award winners, the finalists and all employers who include disabled people in their workforce.”

Enable New Zealand purchases and procures rehabilitation equipment and housing modification services that last year equated to a value of $68.2 million. Of that, a combined value of around $44 million was spent on 61,000 pieces of rehabilitation equipment for the Ministry of Health and ACC.

Enable New Zealand’s disability information site WEKA (www.weka.net.nz) is a good source of advice and contacts for anyone who needs assistance or is helping to care for others.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is coordinated worldwide by the UN. This year’s theme is ‘Keeping the promise: Mainstreaming disability in the Millennium, Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond’. For more information go to: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1540.