This is not a regular business

The project was a natural continuation of our previous activity in the area of social entrepreneurship, which we have been successfully implementing in the region for 14 years now. I can openly say that we are one of the organisations that laid the foundations for social economy in Poland. We are consistent in our attempts to create stable and permanent workplaces in enterprises, which offer a perfect combination of economic activity and social engagement. We also try to attract traditional business to social economy. Over the past three years, we helped to create nearly 150 workplaces for the unemployed and disabled. Other forms of our support, such as advisory or trainings, were used by more than five hundred people.

The Katowice agency Leżę i Pracuję is among them. Its mission is to give a chance to people with motor disability, especially those paralysed who, due to their illness, have virtually no chances on the labour market. Thanks to financial support, the agency was able to purchase computers, software, and specialised equipment for the employees who, due to manual dysfunction or more advanced paralysis, are not able to use the keyboard in a regular way. The agency also used the bridge support which served to secure financial liquidity at the initial stage of its operation. The project made it possible to employ further members of the team. Today, Leżę i Pracuję is made of fourteen people, eight of them have motor disabilities. As many as six workplaces were created with the support from the project.

The operation of the Katowice agency inspires further enterprises. It is appreciated not only by the clients but also by institutions and the press. The portal MyCompany Polska included the agency among twenty companies which have changed Poland. The Marshal’s Office listed it as one of the Local Heroes of the Silesian Voivodeship. Leżę i Pracuję received also a distinction in the Microentrepreneur of the Year 2018 competition. The greatest success so far has been the qualification to the semi-final of the European Social Innovation Competition run by the European Commission.

A jump into water turned out to be the jump... for my whole life. I was standing near the steps at the swimming pool. I remember that I slipped, fell into the water and hit my head on the pool bottom. Next, there was hospital and the diagnosis – a broken spine. It was 25 years ago. Despite my handicap, I managed to achieve self-reliance. I graduated from computer studies. That was basically the end of my success story as it soon turned out that finding a job, due to the fact that I was a tetraplegic, was practically impossible. Or at least that was what I heard from employers. I met Majka Lipiak by chance. She helped me to renovate my mother’s apartment. We liked each other and talked a lot. Mostly about life. At that time, Majka worked for a PR agency in Silesia and managed Facebook company profiles. But she was thinking about changing her professional career.

Once, Majka asked me directly why I did not work because I operated the computer as efficiently as any other person. I told her my story. Half a year passed. She contacted me with a proposal. She said: Let’s start a marketing agency that will employ people like you. Little time passed from the idea to its implementation. Today, Leżę i Pracuję is a stable brand in the marketing sector. Thanks to the Association for Regional Cooperation, we have created workplaces for people with motor disabilities. Currently, there are fourteen persons on board. We work remotely at convenient hours. Although we are subjected to all market processes and have a lot of competition to face, this is not a regular business. Earning money is not the only and superior objective. We disenchant disability, showing that it does not need to be an obstacle that hinders finding employment and self-fulfilment. We run an ongoing campaign promoting professional activation of persons with motor disability.

My example shows that architectural barriers or mobile limitations are not the greatest problem. Human mentality creates most obstacles. I dream about a day when I will not be perceived as somebody inferior who requires continuous help and depends on others. About a day when people in the street will stop gazing at me like I was “Artur in a wheelchair”. I believe that this moment will come one day.