First career expo for persons with disabilities took place in Kathmandu on Wednesday aiming to bridge a gap between job providers and job seekers with disabilities in the country.

"The expo is a common platform for all the persons with disabilities and is definitely going to bridge the gap between job seekers with disabilities and job providers," said Shudarson Subedi, president of the National Federation of Disabled-Nepal (NFDN).

The Expo, which showcased the goods produced by the people with disabilities, also provided a platform to the persons living with disabilities to demonstrate their potentials. "There should be an environment where no one feels unlucky just because of their disabilities," Gajendra Budathoki, a journalist with disability said at the opening ceremony.

The one-day expo was attended by more than 500 persons with disabilities. The event was organized to mark the international day for the disabled. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 15 percent of the total world population are living with disabilities.

"Around 4,000 people with disabilities are currently employed in Nepal," said Deepak Raj Sapkota, country director of the Karuna Foundation, a non-governmental organization. "Likewise, 5,000 additional people with disabilities are capable of joining the workforce in any sector," he added. According to statistics compiled by Karuna Foundation, there are 513,321 people living with disabilities in the country.

The expo jointly organized by the private sector, development organizations and the government has also taken an initiative to develop a roster of resumes of people with disabilities.

"We are developing the roster so that we could forward them to firms eager to employ them," said Robin Thapaliya, media coordinator of the expo.

source: republica,5 Dec 2012