14 ‘smile providers’ join Naturals bandwagon

CHENNAI: In a first of it’s kind, Naturals salon, in partnership with Youth4Jobs Foundation, has launched Natural Enable, an initiative to employ persons with disabilities (PWDs). Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj was the chief guest and was accompanied by Meera Shenoy, founder of Youth4jobs, Veena and CK Kumaravel, founders, Naturals.

“This was a concept that we had been thinking of...for a couple of years. Now with the help of Youth4jobs and a few other organizations, we were able to make our dream a reality,” Veena said.

Fourteen PWDs from across Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have been employed. They have been trained by the Naturals team under the guidance of Youth4jobs. “Most of them are graduates without jobs. We screen, test and see if they’re ready for employment. We give them vocational training and ensure their skill levels are on par with the others,” said Sangeetha Raghavendra, Youth4jobs.

The employees who have been referred to as smile providers looked happy, as it was the first job for most of them. Soubhagya, one of the smile providers, said, “They taught us everything from threading and waxing to make-up and massages. My personal favourites are pedicure, manicure and foot massage.”
Maniratnam, who is visually challenged, couldn’t contain his joy. “I want to use this as a platform to learn and grow. I will work really hard and move towards my goal” he smiled.

The event also saw the 14 smile providers share their special messages with Mithali in sign language. “It’s their first job and it’s special, just like how special my first game was. I hope they make the most out of this opportunity,” said Mithali Raj.