‘The story goes like this: It all started with my family. If it hadn’t been for an accident in the family, I don’t think I would have considered employing Donatas. Ten years ago, my mother ended up in a wheelchair due to a mistake made by doctors during a simple hip operation. Her leg was shortened. Maybe that situation five years ago pushed me to do something a little more generous. That’s why I came up with the idea of employing someone with a disability”.

‘The first challenge I encountered was that, five years ago, when I was looking to employ someone with a disability, I couldn’t find anyone willing to work. I posted adverts on various social networks, including Facebook and LinkedIn. Many people wanted to work remotely, but I wanted to hire someone to work in the office so that I could improve the working conditions. I wanted to change the environment, reorganise the office and make the person visible, as well as encouraging other employers to do the same. I spent two or three years searching for a suitable person, but I couldn’t find anyone.”

‘I found an employee for my company by becoming friends with one of the vocational training centres in our city. The centre suggested a candidate. So, you could say that’s how we finally found that person.”

“When I came up with the idea to hire someone, I wanted to help them get out of the house, integrate into society, and find a new job. Donatas wasn’t replacing anyone; a new position was being created for him. We worked together as a team to decide what he could do. Could he answer questions online, assist managers and create translation certificates? We need lots of certificates, declarations and translations of all kinds. He chose to fill those roles. In the two and a half years he has been with us, he has become a marketing specialist, taking care of core marketing functions, managing the Facebook site and publishing articles.

“Donatas has been a valuable addition to our team. I attend various meetings with him to meet other entrepreneurs. We participate in various conferences and often ask ourselves, ‘If we can do this, why can’t you?’ Is it so difficult, or even impossible? If we’ve succeeded, so can you.”