July 2005 - Enham
Thwarted by the English Summer, Andover Women in Business Club members were nonetheless undaunted at having to eat indoors for their July Bar-b-q meeting at the Amport Inn earlier this month.
David Fullerton, Development Programme Manager for local disability charity, Enham, was introduced to members by fellow colleague and AWIBC President, Tessa Makepeace, who also works for the Charity.
David gave members a background into the history of Enham, starting with its beginnings in June 1919 as a village centre for the training and rehabilitation of disabled servicemen returning from the First World War.
In 1945, Enham benefited from a substantial donation from the people of Egypt in appreciation of the help given by our soldiers during the Battle of El Alamein.
The money was to support Enham’s efforts to get servicemen back into employment and in gratitude, the village was renamed Enham Alamein: the 60 th Anniversary of this change of name is celebrated in October this year.
Enham today is a complex business, with most of its work being carried out at its main site at Enham Alamein, just outside Andover. A smaller site, at Barton Park in Eastleigh, delivers the Employment Services and a successful furniture factory.
The Charity has four 24-hour Residential Care Homes, providing state-of-the-art, accommodation for residents, with one currently undergoing a change of use to Supported Living, which will enable its residents to live more independently in the community. This will add to Enham’s current provision of accommodation in its Supported Living flats and bedsits, plus housing in the Village and the local community.
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left to right - Member Vera Hughes with David Fullerton and President Tessa Makepeace |
The Development Programme, for which David is responsible, provides person-centred training and development to around 100 clients. Clients are Individually assessed to ascertain their abilities and potential and training is delivered accordingly.
“I do not work with ‘disability’” said David. “I work only with ‘ability’, focusing on a person’s positive capabilities. We then develop a training programme, which allows that individual to reach his/her own potential. We set achievable goals and these are regularly reviewed so clients can gain satisfaction from every new step they take and look forward to achieving new ones.”
Also offering Residential Training to disabled clients from around the country, Enham delivers NVQ qualifications in Computer Aided Design (CAD), PC Maintenance, Business Administration and Horticulture and its Business Ability programme supports disabled individuals into self-employment.
In addition to its furniture factory, employment opportunities are available through Enham’s commercial Nurseries and Enham Packing and Assembly Services, a commercial packing company with customers as diverse as Harrods, Twinings and Boots.
Clearly impressed by the diverse and extensive work done by Enham, members listened intently and provided a keen question time following David’s talk
Tessa explained a little of her work, fundraising to raise funds to develop the volunteering at Enham to enable its clients and other disabled and elderly people in the Andover area, to have more opportunities to access sports and social activities.
The ‘Fit for Fun’ volunteer project is already benefiting from funds raised through the generosity of people prepared to dive with sharks, walk miles across the desert or walk on the wings of an airborne plane! A Classic Cars event, to be held at Thruxton on Sunday 4th September will also raise funds for the Project.