LAUNCH OF ANSAAR'S EMPLOY-ABILITY PROJECT

At very short notice, an invitation arrives for our Chair, Manjula Sood, to attend the launch of the Employ-Ability Project, a new social enterprise initiative run by Ansaar. Ansaar is a Leicester-based charity which since 2003 has been working with adults who have mild or moderate learning disabilities and their carers, improving their opportunities, choices and quality of support. Ansaar is also tackling issues regarding disability of all kinds within the Asian and BME community, by making a practical difference to the lives of its service users and proving that they can participate actively in life. "Ansaar", in Arabic, means "helper".

The invitation only arrives this morning and the launch is at lunchtime today in the Highfields Centre. Manjula is out of the city (she's in Nottingham attending a Sport England event) but she has asked me to go in her place, to support what she calls "a great organisation". I give Manjula's apologies to those I meet there (and pass on her "great organisation" comment) - but when they show a DVD about Ansaar's work, she's in it, giving them her glowing testimony!

Research shows that only one in ten people with a learning disability are in employment. People with learning disabilities are the most excluded from the workplace, more so than any other category of disabled people. Ansaar hopes that its Employ-Ability initiative will create opportunities for people with learning disabilities to obtain voluntary or paid work. It will be selling services and goods to the private, voluntary and public sector, including mailouts, leaflet distribution, event management and learning disability awareness training.

I'm very impressed with combination of touching personal stories and professional approach by staff and volunteers. The Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Colin Hall, is here but before he makes his contribution I have to leave - for a dental appointment, of all things (and when I travel out to Saffron Lane for that appointment, I'm told that my dentist has had to take the day off, so I have to go back tomorrow. Honestly, I despair sometimes!)

This organisation is surely one of the best that Leicester has to offer; you can only hope that it gets the recognition and support it so richly deserves.