Nath Fernandes founded VEUcan in 2011 with the vision of promoting awareness of disability to primary and secondary schools as part of the PHSE or Citizenship curriculum with the ultimate aim of raising the importance to the same level as anti-bullying or drugs. Nath also aims to promote independence of people with physical disabilities and believes that, given the correct tools, they are able to achieve the same as the rest of the world regardless of their impairments.

Nath provides Disability Awareness Workshops to primary and secondary schools and also organisations with the main focus being upon promoting equality and independence but also, through activities, allowing participants to be able to experience the everyday obstacles that a disabled person faces.

"We asked Nath to come in and talk to our Year 9 students as part of our PSHE programme looking at discrimination and prejudice.  I wasn't sure how the students would react but they were really gripped by his presentation.  Many of them were struck by the things they had in common - such as a liking of the Xbox - but also inspired by how much Nath has achieved despite the extra obstacles he has had to overcome.

I will definitely be inviting Nath back next year." - Sally - Chipping Sodbury School

WORKSHOPS

Workshops combine visual and physical activities to allow participants to experience various disabilities themselves which can be related to when communicating with disabled people. Although he specialises in physical disabilities, Nath is able to touch upon other impairments such as Blindness and Deafness. His workshops can be customised to your requirements whether it is focusing on one particular area or addressing a different aspect of a topic.

"Nath Fernandes and his team came to Hull Collegiate School to run our Disability Awareness workshop for Year 7 on PHSCE day. It was an awesome morning and the pupils really enjoyed the interactive presentation. Nath was an excellent presenter with a good sense of humour and the children had lots of questions to ask him that he replied to with care and patience.

We thoroughly enjoyed Nath’s visit and would not hesitate to recommend him and his team to other schools." - Andrea - Hull Collegiate School

ABOUT NATH

Throughout my life, the one thing that I strived for was my own independence, no matter what it took to achieve it (This drove my parents mad!!!). I have always believed that, despite my disability, anything's possible with a thought, even if it's in a slightly different way of achieving the same outcome. My parents are always very supportive of me in whatever I do and say that I can only achieve my best but I always like to go that one step further!

MORE ON NATH'S PERSONAL STORY

Nath provides a range of talks to both non-disabled and disabled people concerning different aspects of life. Nath currently has four talks which he offers, each lasting two hours including a 30 minutes Question and Answer session to conclude. The talks he offers are as follows:

Independent Living (Aimed at people with physical disabilities) - this is a relatively new area for Nath and as such he will discuss the transition between living at home and moving out to live independently (maybe with a carer as in his case). During this time, he will talk about the problems that may arise but also how, living independently, allows you to be in control with no restrictions.

Personal Relationships - All throughout Nath's life, he has been trying to bridge the gap between non-disabled people communicating with disabled people (who, like Nath, may have speech problems) and as such this will be the focus of this talk. It will aim to view both sides of the story; if you are disabled with speech problems, how would you go about interacting with other people? On the other side, how would a person start to interact with disabled people? This talk will aim to provide valuable tips to try and bridge the gap.

Moving to University (Aimed at people with physical disabilities) - this talk addresses the numerous obstacles that need to be considered when moving to university ranging from finding the right carer to setting in as easily as possible. Also, Nath will discuss the issues that he faced when he started university and how these were overcome to make it the best time of his life!

Study Support - this talk is aimed at support workers and will discuss various techniques that will enable them to maximise the assistance which they can provide. This can range from note taking to the dictation of essays.

Please note that Nath holds a certified Educational CRB Check.

SOCIAL MEDIA