Speech by Mr. Douglas Orane, Chairman & CEO, GraceKennedy to be presented at the official launch of the UWI Special Student Alumni Association December 1, 2003

Salutations:

• The Principal &/or Vice Principal of the University
• President of the Special Student Alumni Association
• Representatives of disabilities’ organizations
• Representatives of the Ministry of Education
• Members of the UWI community
• Ladies and Gentlemen

I am heartened to be here at the launch of the Special Student Alumni Association at the University of the West Indies’ Mona Campus.

This launch, which forms part of the activities planned for Disabilities Awareness Week, is an important event for many reasons.

The first is that it comes at a time when businesses worldwide are conscious of the need to have a diversified workforce. In this era of globalization, the most successful countries have been those that have been the most inclusive in terms of pooling the talents and creativity of all its citizens, regardless of their physical abilities or disabilities. One of the most prominent examples of this of course, is the British physicist and author, Stephen Hawking, who is physically restrained by motor neurone disease, but yet continues to be considered amongst the most brilliant scientists in the world.

This is an important lesson for us to take note of here in Jamaica where the situation is quite the opposite. In Jamaica, it is more often the case that persons with special needs, who make up some 10% of our population, are notably underemployed, if employed at all.

As someone from the business world, this seems to just not make sense--dollars and cents that is. How can we move forward as a country if we do not take advantage of the brainpower of all, and not just some, of our citizens?

It seems to me that it is time for Jamaican businesses to re-evaluate their approach to potential employees who also happen to have special needs, so as not to miss out on the contributions that those persons could make.

In this respect, the launch of this Association represents a renewed effort to sensitize the business sector to create a diversified workforce, reflective of our differences and at the same time inclusive of all our talents.

The second reason why I consider this launch to be important is that I anticipate that it will serve as a reminder to every one of us of what makes a country truly great. Indeed it has been said many times before that one of the characteristics of an advanced and highly civilized society is the way in which it treats its more vulnerable members—the young, the old and those with special needs. Although I would say that the jury is certainly still out on us as a society in this regard, I do think there are at least glimmers of hope for the future.

The formation of this Association is certainly an example of this and I was gratified to hear some of its objectives, including:

AND

I think another key role that the Association must play is to continually present its members and indeed the wider society with examples of the many success stories of persons with special needs in the different sectors of our community. And there are many—people like Heather Little-White, Managing Director of her own food and nutrition consultancy, who is confined to a wheelchair as the result of a traumatic incident a few years ago; and Sarah Newland-Martin, the General Secretary of the YMCA, who is also physically challenged, to name a few.

These persons are role models who can provide not only inspiration to those who face similar challenges but also information to others who perhaps were unaware of the capabilities of persons with special needs.

Luckily, such ignorance can be dealt with through public education and one-to-one interaction. I would like to suggest that this is exactly the kind of activity your Association should be engaged in so as to overturn the prejudice that currently exists amongst some employers. By publicizing such examples, your Association will go a long way to helping the general public to understand and accept persons with special needs.

I know that on a personal level, my respect and empathy has grown tremendously because of the experiences I have had with various individuals over the years.

In the 1980s, when I was at Hi-Lo, we had a number of cashiers who were either hearing or speech impaired but who were able to perform at the same level as someone who did not have such challenges.

I have also had similar experiences with other GraceKennedy employees.

One of those is Angela Powell who began at the GraceKennedy head office some 20 years ago as a summer worker and was shortly after offered a permanent. Angela, who has braces on both legs and uses crutches, is always pleasant and efficient in her current position as one of our telephone operators, living up to her responsibility as often the first person that customers interact with at the company.

Another employee is, of course, your Alumni Association’s Assistant Treasurer, Curtis Sweeney, who has worked with Grace and Staff for over 17 years and has done a tremendous job as a counselor and project co-ordinator. I must admit that I often forget that Curtis is 90% blind, so much so that when I was speaking to him the other day about this function, he had to remind me of that fact.

Most recently, I had the honour and pleasure of working with Senator Floyd Morris in the Senate. Senator Morris used to say, “I may not be sighted but I have vision” and I couldn’t agree more. In addition to the vision and expertise that he brought to the job, Senator Morris functioned effectively in his capacity as senator and was known to be one of the most well-prepared of all the senators with whom I worked.

I mention my experience with Senator Morris because I think it is typical of my experience working with persons with special needs. In the past, I have found such persons to have such a positive attitude to work, to be much more loyal to their organization and to make a greater effort in their jobs. In fact I have often reflected to myself that in a given situation, employees with special needs are more likely to perform at a higher standard than your average Jamaican employee.

And so, I want to close by saying congratulations to the President and the members of the Special Student Alumni Association for demonstrating your commitment to assisting UWI’s students and graduates. I am confident of your success and I look forward to hearing more about your achievements in the near future.

Good luck and thank you.