KFC was the grand winner of the National Disability Excellence Award 2014 put forward by the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions held on December 3rd, 2014 on the occasion of the international Day of the disabled people.

Rewarded for their steady support towards the deaf of the Society for the Welfare of the Deaf (SWD) employed by KFC of Ebène and Flacq, this leader in fast food has demonstrated that the employability of the deaf people is not a pious hope.

Since 2011, in partnership with the SWD, several deaf people have been hired by KFC of Ebène and Flacqat these two outlets.

This praiseworthy initiative was unanimously greeted by the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions, and is very heartening to the Managing Director of KFC, Junaid Muslun.

“We are honoured by this award which comes to recognize our efforts and commitment towards the deaf persons in Mauritius and I thank the Society for the Welfare of the Deaf, our main partner, and dedicate this award to our numerous employees who contributed to this success,” he said.

Junaid Muslun underlined that everything started in 2010 by a visit to a KFC restaurant in India, inspired by the ‘Silent Store’ of Malaysia, who employs deaf persons.

“We have pleasantly been surprised by the warm welcome and the comfortable atmosphere which reigned there, and for those who were present, it was clear that it was possible to do the same in Mauritius,” Junaid Muslun said.

“When returning to Mauritius, we were motivated to carry out this project and thus began a partnership with Society for the Welfare of the Deaf,” he said.

“The pre-selected pupils did a training course at KFC, while some of our employees followed a traineeship in sign language. We then adapted our equipment,” he added.

According to Junaid Muslun, they are extremely satisfied by the service provided by the deaf employees and the project will be developed further.

“The company continues its collaboration with the Society for the Welfare of the Deaf and plans on training other deaf persons to be employed in other KFC outlets across the country,” explained the Managing Director.

President of the SWD, Noorjehan Joonas said that “KFC is a beautiful example to be followed because they believe in the capacity of the deaf persons to evolve in a working environment as any other person.”

“This award comes to certify their commitment on the ground and transmits a strong signal that handicapped person can contribute to the success of a company,” she concluded.

Launched by the government, the ‘National Disability Excellence Award’ attempts to encourage employers to recruit people having a handicap. The aim behind this objective is to reward employees who excelled in their work in spite of their handicap, but also employers who have developed strategies of recruitment adapted to handicapped persons.

More business news on AfricaMoney