JACARANDA FINAL REPORT ACTIVITIES DONE At Jacaranda Workshop, we involved ourselves in various activities not just handwork but

we also got time to socialize and learn more from the people who were working at the site. Jacaranda Workshop is associated with the Jacaranda School for the Mentally Disabled in Nairobi, Kenya. As a group we primarily made jewelry, a skill that they learned at the workshop. The jewelry is entirely handcrafted from brass and hand-made beads, most of which are ceramic and are glazed and fired at the workshop. We got to learn the techniques that they use to make different types of bracelets, necklaces and also earrings. The more jewelry making techniques we learnt, it enabled us to create even more complicated jewelry pieces. Towards the end of the community service we were given a chance to make our own ornaments that were put up for sale at the workshop. In addition to the above, we also designed and produced our own jewelry making kits, bead jewelry pattern. Jewelry making kits and beading patterns can be profitable especially if ones jewelry designs are very time consuming or laborious in producing the final product. We were given the opportunity to go and sell them to other people outside the workshop and this was a way of promoting the work that was done at the workshop. Giving a hand in ensuring good maintenance of the area was also part of what we did most of the time inclusive of buying more tools. This was a way of boosting the continuity of good work at the Jacaranda workshop. LEARNING EXPERIENCES While working at Jacaranda there is a lot that I managed to gather on the positive aspect that enabled me have a different look of life. These are just normal human beings like anybody else the only difference is that they just have a special condition. Though this does not mean that they are to be undermined in the society or looked down upon in any way. Besides learning how to make ornaments at the institution it helped me acquire knowledge of strategies on how to take care of the mentally challenged persons by taking time to interact with the artisans and staff on a day to day basis. These include; After doing a little bit of research with people who live the mentally handicapped condition and also the staff within the workshop area, I learnt that, one can gain as much knowledge as possible

regarding your loved one's particular mental handicap. Set up information-gathering sessions with health professionals who specialize in your area of concern. Get more information from reputable medical journals you can access through university libraries if possible. Make sure to have professionals clarify anything you don't understand. According to the way of living as some of artisans at Jacaranda Workshop are married, others very old and the rest young adults, it is also good to determine the best living situation for a loved one. There are many considerations to look into, including age, degree of handicap, wishes of the person and financial concerns. Take time and seek the advice of mental health professionals, family and close friends. One should not feel obligated to make the decision on your own. In case of housing a loved one outside of the home, as much time as possible should be spent in the environment in consideration to get a clear picture of what his life will be like there. In relation to the work that they engage in, one is to prepare the living environment of the mentally handicapped so as to aid in their success. Removal of any objects they may be unable to safely handle if a major prerequisite. Allow the individual to make decisions regarding whatever it is they feel comfortable with to the extent possible, this allows stress reduction. Just as the artisans at Jacaranda are given the chance to work in a contented surrounding, it boosts their selfdetermination and also they tend to have more fun, appreciating the type of work they are doing. Lastly in relation to how the staff is able to keep the artisans at Jacaranda under control, they note patterns of behavior exhibited by the mentally challenged in order to take away any frustrations as much as possible. One should remove a loved one from an environment that vexes them, particularly when they are learning a new task. Being on the watch for significant patterns in mood this is for example, they might become easily irritated, excited or exhibit distress at a particular point in the day. One can often help them to cope with these feelings and behaviors when they see them coming. INCIDENTS While working at the workshop there were not many negative incidents witnessed occurring between the artisans and the staff. Most of the time there was complete order and discipline during working schedules. The only problem was though that, the artisans tend to use very vulgar language at each other. Most of the time there was the act of throwing of insults back and forth

between themselves and also engaging in a little bit of unnecessary fight in a situation where there occurred a misunderstanding. These misunderstandings were as a result of one artisan disturbing the other like this particular one named Steve; he was constantly on the verge of giving the other students a hard time. In other scenarios it was when an artisan took anothers tool without permission thus causing fracas that was later resolved. Besides this Jacaranda Workshop was an incident free and safe environment. SWOT ANALYSIS STREGNTHS Good environment The situation of the workshop and the surrounding is very good it makes it easy for one to locate the area. It is constantly kept clean and it is not a noisy environment where the artisans could be at constant distress. It is also a very suitable position for a business like that since there is room for expansion in case there is increase in demand supply for the type of work that goes on within the place. You can put more working tools within the area and also creates space it many people are to work in a period of time. Adequate space There is adequate space to accommodate the work that goes on within the Workshop. During our community service we never had a problem with doing our work freely as there was ample space. This was also good for the visitors who came to look at the site while we were there since the place was not overcrowded causing to lack of parking space or rather, having a difficult time when coming for visitations in relation to viewing of displayed products or knowing more about the area and what goes on in the workshop. Warming Reception Once into Jacaranda compound it would be very hard to know that you are going to deal with mentally handicapped people since the reception you get is very good. There is no disorganization and chaos within the environment and this can be seen as a positive attribute. Both the staff and the artisans welcome you to the workshop just like most of us did you tend to get confused on

differentiating between the knowledge of who is who. The employees take time to show one around, give you proper explanation to what is required and the activities that go on within the workshop. Proper Feeding There is food in adequacy for the employees. They are given meals every day and this is a form of motivation. It is very hard for work to take place within an environment where one stays hungry. Besides them eating ugali daily except Fridays, they seem content with what they are provided for. Proper Assistance If one is new at the Jacaranda workshop, chances are very minimal that tendency of feeling neglected and lost will occur. The artisans, manager and employee tend to take a lot of time in engaging one with the work activities that are undertaken within and outside the workshop. There is proper time management and also in addition to this provision of tools, and requirements that one would need in order to do make the ornaments to satisfaction. It took me and most of my colleagues a day to adapt the system WEAKNESSES Poor organization structure Jacaranda Workshop has a poor organizational structure in the sense that; a) Slow Decision Making The slow decisions made at Jacaranda workshop hamper sales opportunities and innovation. There is no direct decision making authority to the appropriate persons or artisans, and decisions pass through multiple layers of management before a result is rendered, there should be some changes administered.
b) Lines of Communication are Unclear

Employees routinely by pass the standard chain of command in the workshop and this shows a sign of poor organizational design. Employees have various complaints like low wages and no proper suggestions made. There is poor feedback to their manager which tends to occur occasionally.

Under this business the employees do not feel like their voices are heard through the standard management path. Lack of supervision Though they have staff around there is lack of constant supervision of the artisans and this as a result causes them to lunge around a lot and also disturb the students working in the Workshop. The staff tends to at most times attend to other areas outside the workshop causing slow progress of work. No account records to keep track of sales There is one person handling accounts, there is one person as the manager of the area and this is a poor method of running the workshop. We were made to sell some of the ornaments though in return we never got to see any record of accounts put into place to show how much has been accomplished. It is worse because the staff was making inquiry on how much we have sold showing that there is very poor communication made in the surrounding and this may lead to corruption and fall of the business. Poor spending and wages At the workshop, the artisans and the staff tend to complain mostly about the amount of money they are paid in regards to the work they do there. There is so much end result seen in production but the amount of money and looking into the basic needs of the employees is very minimal. Most of the money is spent on unnecessary things like buying of little requirement like camera, while a lot could be done in the area of maintenance and trying to better the stay of the employees. No transport The employees at Jacaranda and the artisans are offered no transport to the workshop and this makes it very difficult for them to come to work on time and also leave in time. There is also no means of transport that could be used in making fast and efficient delivery of the goods and this increases the possibility of losing customers and also clientele. The fact that also most these mentally handicapped artisans take public means to the workshop is very risky as it may cause misunderstanding in confusing them with a normal person.

No qualified personnel All the staff at this workshop is not qualified personnel none of them has undergone further studies in learning how to take care of this mentally handicapped artisans and most of the time they cannot really tell when the artisan is in some kind of problem or is undergoing distress. As a result of this in most of the time they tend to find it very difficult to put the artisans at a calm state when the start acting in distress. They are not also able to take care of then when a medical condition arises which is a negative aspect as ones life could be in danger at the particular moment. OPPORTUNITIES Better and Broad Business With the change in administration and better marketing strategies, I totally believe that Jacaranda is bound to develop more and also expound. There is very little that is being done within the sales department and also awareness of the Workshop. The Jacaranda website too has also very minimal information that would attract more clientele or an everyday normal business man into working or purchasing goods at the workshop. There needs to be change and division in the sales sector and the ad ministerial sector. The help of professionals to help promote the business is very effective within this area. In relation to the above, they can implement on days to make display of their goods by indulging in activities like a small fair to attract more clientele. Expansion of the workshop Jacaranda workshop has adequate spacing that is not really being put to use. They can fund the uprising of another small building to enable in the more production of goods within the environment. It enables the development of the organization. It provides a further motivation for the organization that do well in all areas. In return there is great possibility of increase in the level of productivity. It also provides more options for the workshop in terms of other particular work to do. Lastly, another important aspect of business expansion at Jacaranda would be efficiency in use of resources. THREATS Stock control

There is poor stock control at Jacaranda which eventually leads to overstocking of the products. There are poor sales strategies and lack of transportation and this as a result causes the ornaments to pile up within the vicinity. Medical Failure-no hospital or health center The vicinity lacks medical or professional personnel within the vicinity who could assist in taking care of the needs that the employees could not possibly handle. There are a lot of dangerous tools within the workshop and this at any time would cause an accident. Also in the situation where one of the artisans would fall ill, something that happened from time to time, it would force them to undertake a very long process in order to be able to give assistance or administer the problem. This then tends to be a health threat to the surrounding. Slow payment Unfortunately for Jacaranda they are at the mercy of customers, clients and suppliers and late payment problems are only expected to get worse as the downturn continues. This as a result causes the employees and the artisans to become less interested in the work that they are doing as the money problems tend to become more of a problem within the organization. It is even worse off because at the end of the day they are not paid as much money to be able to sustain their day to day needs. There are very minimal chances in the improvement of getting paid on time as a result of the economic downturn. Collapse of Workshop This could occur due to putting the business fast and marketing second. In addition, bad administration at the workshop there is only one lady in charge of everything and she is aged. There is very little emphasis put on the marketing of the goods. At my stay in Jacaranda I never saw any progress undertaken in trying to recreate their website or try to find means in which the final products can be displayed. Rather we were making too much and most of the end products were kept back inside a hidden room where not many would know what goes on within the surrounding. Most of these products as a result of being made in a rush ended up being of very poor quality.

In relation to administration, there is no good channel of communication between the employees, artisans and the head of the department as a result of this you find that it is hard to maintain good partnership that would help in the improvement of the business at Jacaranda. Most of the work is handled at very poor levels. RECOMMENDATIONS The organizational structure should be trimmed down or rather departmental decision-making process may be needed to foster an innovative spirit in the company. The employees should not be denied the need to go directly to the members of board to express concerns or recommendations. Having good stock management that will enable the lowering of costs, improve efficiency and ensure production can meet fluctuations in customer demand. It will give the workshop a competitive advantage as more efficient production can nourish through to lower prices and also customers will always be satisfied as products will be available on demand At the administration offices in Jacaranda, putting in place a good payment chasing process starting off with a polite request for payment would be very beneficial. This will enable getting steadily more assertive until payment in forthcoming. By having an accountant instead of having one heat doing all the work, it helps in keeping an eye on the customers payment trends. This will help in spotting potential problems before they develop into something more damaging. If customers are becoming increasingly hard to contact, or payment means are suspiciously delayed, it may be beneficial to investigate further. Good communication matters within Jacaranda because the organization is made up of people. There are a lot of benefits gained through marketing communications that would enable survival of a particular business. The board of directors at Jacaranda can take the advantage of the wide variety of media available to let the public know about the products made at this workshop. They can use business communications to establish your company the company in a far much better way than it is as per now. Also, through good communication, it can help foster cooperation between members of management and the employees. Such consideration helps to promote understanding and build trust between one and the employees.

At least one professional personnel within the health sector should be employed as they are in a more likely position to recognize and manage this disorder. The ability to communicate with people whose speech is limited by mental deficiency is actually something that can be much more effectively taken care of in any circumstance.