TRAINING DISABLED MEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 120, 17 November 1942, Page 4

TRAINING DISABLED MEN

The ideal for which to strive in the rehabilitation of returned servicemen is to re-establish every man in his normal civil occupation as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, many men, owing to war disabilities, will not be able to* carry on with their ordinary peacetime jobs, and the responsibility of finding some other form of employment and training them for it must be faced. For that reason the opening yesterday of the Disabled Servicemen's Vocational Training Centre in Wellington is a notable and welcome event. It represents a big forward step in the plans for the rehabilitation of those who have been called upon to play the major part in the present struggle. The care of these men is a national responsibility and much will depend on the manner in which the task is undertaken. As the Governor-General stressed when opening the new centre, the men who, have suffered disabilities which will prevent them from returning to their usual occupations are entitled to' something more than charity, however lavish it may be. They are entitled to be given every opportunity to re-establish themselves in such a way that they will be able to fend for themselves and make a useful contribution to the life of the community. This opportunity will be provided by the Wellington training centre and by similar centres which are to be .set up in other parts of j\ Tew Zealand. What can'be achieved is shown yby the results of the work already performed by the Wellington branch of, the Servicemen's Reestablishment League, which from a modest beginning has built up a flourishing business in which 51 disabled soldiers are active partners.