Sandton Doggy Daycare in Sandton, South Africa is a poplar center that has one important difference, its owner solely employs young people withone thing in common, they all have a disability.The idea came after Tamara Coumbis's stepson, Julian, who has a learning difficulty, found it almost impossibleto get a job. So far, he had only been able to find volunteer work, which left him unable to make money.[caption id="attachment_33085" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Julian Coumbis, Sandton Doggy Daycare's first employee. Source: News24[/caption]Becoming frustrated with the unfair situation, Tamara tookmatters into her own hands. She decided to open her own 'doggy daycare' center, where Julian would be the first employee.[caption id="attachment_33084" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Tamara Coumbis, founder of Sandton Doggy Daycare. Source: News24[/caption]The young man's father, Ron, described their decision to open the center to News24:
We thought no ways, we are going to create opportunities ourselves, we don’t have to wait for somebody else to give Julian a job opportunity. And the great thing about that is that it has created opportunities for plenty other special needs people.
Currently, the daycare employs three disabled young people on a full time basis, along with two volunteers, that Tamara hopes will soon become paid employees. Everyday, some 30 dog owners trust the center with their beloved pets.
Source: News24
They have all been completely won over by the work of Julian and his colleagues, whooffer an abundanceof love and attention to the animals. Tamara describes:
There’s a real love, it’s not just a job. It’s giving them hope and a life and something to do every day. Besides that they earn a market related income now, they just have a purpose which I think everybody needs.
Everyday Julian and his colleagues show that their disability does not hold them back, and that they make fully capable and competent employees.
Source: News24
If you would like to know more about Sandton Doggy Daycare, you can visit their Facebook site by clicking, here.Watch the News24 report on the center below:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtsbzadCaOI[/embed]
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