The Unlimited Creativity

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Conditions with disabilities are still often seen as an obstacle to work. In fact, people with disabilities (diffable) is actually same as most people, have different abilities. They are not dis-able. Each person’s ability can be honed with an accommodating program according to their needs and potention. Including the social empowerment program that has been routinely held by the UII Department of Communication. What is the program involving the diffable by UII Communication’s students like?

Vadhiya Rahma and four of her friends from Deartment of Communication, class 2018 broke through the stigma of disabilities/ diffable person. She pioneered the production training for producing tie dye in the Difabelzone.id Community. The goal is to develop skills and improve the standard of living for diffable person.

“It turns out that not only us who share knowledge with them, on the contrary we get a lot of knowledge from them,” said Vadhiya, on Wednesday (31/03/2021), when she was present online at the monthly discussion of the Center for Alternative Media Studies and Documentation (PSDMA). Nadim, Department of Communications of UII. According to her, diffable persons are not an obstacle to doing business and working.

The bad stigma against diffables arises because there are still many people who do not want to know and do not want to know. The use of diffable diction is actually not widely used yet. Whereas the word ‘diffable’ (popularly known for its short form ‘different ability’), as an alternative word choice compared to the word ‘disability’ (dis-ability) needs to always be echoed.

Training and Marketing

The programs offered by Vadhiya and the team did not just provide training. After the work was finished, tie dye products marketed through social media. A program of talk show was held then. The talk show entitled “How To Start Business in Young Age” provides business inspiration as well as efforts branding so that content can attract buyers. Meanwhile, Vadhiya and her team were determined to continue this program on a larger scale, such as an online bazaar.

This training is also fully supported by the Difabelzone.id Community which is very cooperative. In between the event, Irene Juliana, one of the facilitators of the Difabelzone.id community, said not to see disabled friends as people with limited abilities, but different abilities. She also shared the background of the founding of the Difabelzone.id community which was founded in 2016.

Initially, Irene and some of her friends saw the lack of facilities to accommodate entrepreneurs with disabilities after a skills training program at one of the diffable foundations in Yogyakarta. Difabelzone.id offers itself to be an alternative space for people with disabilities to be independent and work.

At the end of the event, Vadhiya hoped that this program could inspire anyone. She also thanked Difabelzone.id because she had been given the opportunity to share and learn. “We are well received, that’s why we also want to give the best feedback,” said Vadhiya at the end of the discussion session.

Reporter / Author: Indria Juwita ( Department of Communications Student of UII, class of 2017, Internship in PSDMA Nadim, Department of  Communications of UII)

Editor: A. Pambudi W.