Oasis

Oasis

It is something most of us take for granted; the right to work, the sense of worth that comes from being paid a wage and the satisfaction of a job well done. But this simple thing is still denied to many people. The intellectually disabled remain predominantly outside the labor market and in South Africa, where extreme poverty and lower standards of public services are very real problems, the chances for employment are very rare.

Oasis is a non-profit organization in Cape Town that runs two recycling centres, in Elsie’s River and Claremont, and their workforce is almost entirely made up from people with intellectual disabilities who gather the recycling, either from commercial deliveries or dropped off by the public, sort it by hand, then pack it to sell on to recycling factories. The income from the sale of the recycling materials, and from the Claremont bakery and bric-a-brac shop, helps fund schooling, transport, meals, social care and housing, and also provides an active social life for the workers, some of whom have been under the care of Oasis from childhood and into late adult life. The chance to work, to earn a wage, and to interact with the general public helps to give the workers a sense of worth, of pride and empowerment whilst dispelling the myths and the negative misconceptions that surround promoting a clearer understanding of mental illness.