Kabátová Dája
Organization: Letohrádek Vendula
Year Founded: 1990
Country: Czech Republic
Website: www.letohradekvendula.cz
Geographic Area of Impact: Czech Republic.
Model: Hybrid Non-Profit
Focus: Disabilities,Education,Enterprise Development,Health,Labor Conditions and Unemployment.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Czech Republic, 2008 The Innovation Letohrádek Vendula is a non-governmental, not-for profit organization providing alternative social services. It is a crafts manufacturing workshop employing people with mental, physical or combined handicaps, who engage in traditional crafts such as weaving, candle production and handmade paper production. The crafts workshop production is based on the principle of breaking down the manufacturing process into simple steps, allowing each client to participate. The products of the crafts workshop are sold in a wide network of stores, including the Baumax chain. Other services provided by Letohrádek Vendula include a daily and weekly assisted living facility, socio-legal consulting and a crisis centre with accommodation and medical rehabilitation. The crisis centre provides temporary accommodation, consulting and personal assistance to handicapped people in need, e.g. in the case of their caregiver’s death. Background The main purpose of the daily and weekly care is to assist families caring for a handicapped person and the development of the handicapped person’s abilities and self-sufficiency, with the option of future employment in a protected job in the crafts workshop or in the open labour market. The clients of the workshop and the daily assisted living facility are brought to Letohrádek in the morning and go back in the afternoon to their families so that they do not loose contact with them. Family members/caregivers can work. This is an alternative to a permanent placement in a state social institution, which still is more common in the Czech Republic. This approach increases the integration of handicapped citizens into society through a combination of a crafts workshop and high-quality, individually oriented social services. Strategy All services, i.e. the crisis centre with accommodation and the protected crafts workshop combined with a daily assisted living facility, are new. The approach also includes client selection, because Letohrádek Vendula accepts all people irrespective of their diagnosis, which is completely different from the approach of state-run institutions that sort people according to their diagnosis. Thus, Letohrádek Vendula represents a unique community of people who are, to a great extent, able to help each other and work together. For example, a physically healthy but mentally handicapped man and a wheelchair-bound but mentally healthy man can help each other. The result of their cooperation is production and a saleable product – none would be able to accomplish this alone. The Entrepreneur Manager Drahoslava Kabátová graduated from the College of Education of Charles University in Prague, with a major in special education. For 10 years, until 1994, she worked in the Jedlicka Institute in Prague as a nurse, where she organized a crafts workshop. In 1992, she founded the Letohrádek Vendula Civic Association, and is the creator of its comprehensive work-therapeutic programme and know-how. Kabátová has served on several evaluation boards for social projects of the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Since 1990, she has worked on the building, construction and expansion of Letohrádek Vendula and its services. In 2005, she became President of the Letohrádek Vendula Civic Association. She has created many projects with Czech Republic grants, grants from European Funds and others.
<< back