Dignity through Self Sufficiency | |
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The six-month program gives students the
option to create web stores for the Virtual Mall,
an online one-stop-shop selling Canadian artisan
products on a commission basis.
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Dignity through Self SufficiencyCFDC Nelson provides eBusiness training for diabled adults
At the point when Diane Machuk admitted that her disability was preventing her from doing her day job, she discovered an eCommerce opportunity that changed her life. Machuk had developed Lupus, a condition that restricts her from contact with the sun. It was becoming impossible for her to cover daytime assignments in her job as a reporter. Having always worked hard – she was previously a forestry worker – it took a lot for her to step into the government office in Williams Lake and ask for help. “It was very frustrating. There’s a lot of dignity in being self-sufficient, I had lots of skills and was certainly willing to work but I’m not always healthy between nine and five, Monday to Friday.” Someone at the disability office told her about the Internet Business Development for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (IBDE) program.
“This program really was a turning point for me. And it gave me, I believe, the necessary skills just to pull everything together and at the same time still have the flexibility in my hours, which is really important to me."
Through the online training program, administered and taught by instructors out of the Community Futures office in Nelson, B.C., she could learn web design and business skills from home, setting her own study schedule. Machuk jumped at the chance to register. As a journalist and graphic designer, the program was a perfect fit for her growing skillset and need to work alternative hours.
The six-month program gives students the option to create web stores for the Virtual Mall, an online one-stop-shop selling Canadian artisan products on a commission basis. Alternatively, graduates can establish their own web design ventures, creating eCommerce sites for small businesses. Since graduating in June, Machuk has established a photography and web design studio out of Golden, B.C., and is looking forward to next month, when she will have made enough to come off her disability pension. By Christmas, she’ll also have a web store in the Virtual Mall, where she’ll promote a Yukon artist who produces stained
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IBDE student Carrie Torrans
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glass and fabric art. So far 62 students from all over B.C. have been through the program, with a 76 per cent completion rate. Already, the IBDE has won two awards: the Minister's Award for Excellence and Innovation awarded by the B.C. Minister for Western Economic Diversification, and the Conference Board of Canada Award, presented in Montreal, PQ in April.
Its success can be attributed to the full spectrum of needs it addresses. Firstly, the program is accredited through Selkirk College: graduates receive a certificate once they complete their first website. In addition, students report increased self-esteem, having something meaningful after a history of being unable to participate in the mainstream work world. It also gives them a chance to meet and network with others who share common obstacles, as well as earn an income at their own hands, work at their own pace, and provide a service for others who need it. Most of all, the Internet provides an equal playing field where disabilities remain out of the picture.
For Machuk, it’s made a world of difference.
“It was really hard to accept the limitations at first because I’ve always been a very active person with a good, solid work history. I was used to generating a good income every month. So now it feels great to know that I’ve worked my way around and about and through this. Lupus I have to live with, but being self-employed and doing the work that I’m doing, I can be self-sufficient again.”
She credits the instructors, Sharron Swan and Kay Ryan, of the IBDE program for their upbeat encouragement, dedication and incredible knowledge base. “They put a lot of heart into what they’re doing,” she says. For more information on the project, take a look at www.ibde.ca. And for great Christmas ideas, including pet gifts, toys, silk scarves, metal art, ceramics and soaps, all locally hand-crafted, see www.virtualmall.ca. The program is sponsored by Western Diversification, the Vancouver Foundation, Human Resources Skills Development Canada and Selkirk College.
Nov. 16, 2004
by Sally Smith
Contact: Kay Ryan 250-825-9433 (kryan@futures.bc.ca)
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