Main Menu

VSO - Sharing Skills, Changing Lives

Tom Craven

Name: Tom Craven
Background: Marketing and management
VSO role: Management Adviser, Bombolulu Cultural and Handicrafts Centre, Mombasa

Tom started his career as a management consultant, later working in sales and marketing at Unilever. After completing an MBA he worked for five years marketing educational software. He applied to VSO after deciding on a career change, choosing to "do something different" before retraining as a primary school teacher.

As in many developing countries, people with disabilities in Kenya face huge challenges. The stigma associated with having a disability means many families hide their disabled children indoors and keep them away from school. A lack of education contributes to poor employment opportunities, leaving many disabled adults trapped in a cycle of poverty and isolation. They have no status in society and no means of achieving an independent income.

Tom is working as a management volunteer with Bombolulu Workshops & Cultural Centre. Its aim is to enable people with disabilities to overcome their physical limitations and empower them to become self-reliant and fully integrated members of their communities. Tom says:

We train people with disabilities in handicrafts and business related skills. Our employees are now the major breadwinners in their families. In a small way this is changing how able-bodied people view those with disabilities - in that they are still able to work, they are intelligent, they work eight hours a day, they can start and support families, they are skilled and so on. In his role, Tom has had a wide remit, including improving both management and marketing. He has helped the management team to plan and evaluate more effectively, and has also improved communications to bridge the divide between different departments and to break down hierarchy. Through this activity the management team has become stronger, happier and more cohesive. Tom has used his marketing skills to open up new markets for Bombolulu's handicrafts, both within Kenya and overseas, and has increased distribution.

In 2004, Bombolulu made a net profit for the first time in several years, and looks to do similar this year. Working alongside his colleagues, Tom has helped Bombolulu to grow and thrive. Expansion means more jobs, enabling more people with disabilities to fulfil their potential and take their rightful place as valued members of the community.