Disability charity Leonard Cheshire has received a $4.1m (£2.4m) grant from management consulting company Accenture to run an international project.
The figure brings the total amount donated to the charity by Accenture to almost £4m since 2008 and will see the expansion of Leonard Cheshire's existing Access to Livelihoods aid project in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa.
The grant will enable job and entrepreneurial training for around 13,400 disabled people.
A spokeswoman for Leonard Cheshire Disability said her organisation had had a long-term relationship with Acenture.
“A two year pilot was started in 2008 and this is an expansion of a really successful project which has helped people with disabilities around the world to find work," she said. “In the first phase of the project, over 10,000 people gained new skills and 6,000 of those have found new work."
The original grant was awarded after Leonard Cheshire approached Accenture in 2008.
“We approached Accenture who had already demonstrated excellent credentials in skills development with the global challenge of 80 per cent of disabled people not in employment,” said Desiree D’Souza, fundraising managing director at Leonard Cheshire.
Leonard Cheshire Disability provides support to enable disabled people get into employment and entrepreneurship. The global alliance of Cheshire partners, supports disabled people in more than 50 countries.
Accenture’s relationship with Leonard Cheshire Disability is part of its corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed. In addition to the grant, Accenture staff will get involved through pro bono and volunteering support such as one-one-one mentoring, resume preparation, and job and career fair support.
“Disabled people are a massively untapped resource in the employment market," said Tiziana Oliva, international director at Leonard Cheshire Disability. "This is an issue we can’t afford to ignore. This grant enables us to increase the overall economic empowerment of persons with disabilities.”
