By Margareta Kecman | Director
More than 20 years ago, KEC began with the mission to assist people with intellectual disabilities experience enriching lives as they get older. Our day center was the first step in accomplishing this mission. Early on, however, we realized that this was not enough. While the day center was a home away from home for our beneficiaries they needed more. They also needed meaningful interactions with the rest of society. What better way to achieve that than through work.
Twenty years ago, when we set out to our first find corporate partners who would welcome our people onto their teams there were far fewer local and international companies working in Belgrade. There was one international company that was here long before the others arrived. We had a feeling that since they were a global leader in their field, they would have an interest in what we were proposing. Sure enough, when we approached McDonald’s Serbia they immediately recognized the value of this program and were eager to partner with KEC to bring people with intellectual disabilities onto their team. This November we marked the 20th year of cooperation with our first corporate partner—McDonald’s Serbia.
“We are very happy that we were the first company in Serbia that, together with our partners from KEC, recognized and initiated this extremely important project, the inclusion of young people with intellectual disabilities in society. This program, which was launched in 2004, made it possible for these wonderful young people to realize their human right to work and live an active life in the community. With the logistical support of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Policy, Twenty years ago, 12 people were employed in two McDonald’s restaurants. We improved the cooperation every year and today these young people come to seven of our restaurants,“ said Desanka Landauer, Marketing Director at McDonald’s Serbia.
"KEC believes in the idea that every human being is unique and valuable to the community in which he lives and that he contributes to it with his knowledge, work, skills or his very existence.“ That is why we designed this program and we are very grateful to McDonald’s management, which in 2004 was the first in Belgrade to recognize the needs and importance of inclusion of our users through work engagement. From 12 users who started working in two restaurants, over 20 years, close to 100 people have gone through the program in seven restaurants,“ said Margareta Greta Kecman, president of the Board of Directors.
Realizing this program required not only finding corporate partners but also creating a legal framework in which it could function. With the support of McDonald’s, and our other corporate partners, KEC prevailed in achieving a legal mechanism to support work engagement of people with intellectual disabilities. As a result of our efforts, hundreds of people with these disabilities have places to work on the open labor market.
More important than the representatives of the ministries, government agencies and the media who attended this celebration, the Bezistan McDonald’s was full of the many many KEC beneficiaries who have worked at McDonald’s over the past two decades. Needless to say, their joy and gratitude for these opportunities was the best proof that these 20 years of cooperation have been a success.
We are grateful to McDonald’s Serbia for its willingness to take a chance on KEC’s idea and we look forward to 20 more years of successful cooperation.
KEC is also grateful to all of our GlobalGiving supporters whose help enables us to keep encouraging corporations and individuals to include people with disabilities into all aspects of local life.
By Margareta Kecman | Director
By Margareta Kecman | Director
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