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Jobs – Helping Those With Disabilities at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics

18 Jan, 2020

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tokyo: The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation is taking the interfaith ‘job search skills’ course we piloted in Manchester — with support there from former Manchester United’s Manager Sir Alex Ferguson — to Tokyo!

In Japan, the program will help people with physical challenges have enhanced skills to find and get better jobs.


The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) is pleased to announce that it will team up with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to provide materials to help physically challenged workers and others find a better job. Several workshops, sponsored by Dare to Overcome, will be held prior to and following the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

This builds on RFBF’s Empowerment-Plus program, which also involved collaboration with Latter-day Saints in using the same program to help people of different faiths and beliefs come together in Manchester, UK, to help each other find better employment. The program in Manchester also partnered with non-denominational Launching Leaders to offer personal development courses for young adults in a multi-faith setting, together with the Catholic, Muslim and Jewish Chaplaincies at Manchester University (see video with Launching Leaders Graduation at end). We also offer Launching Leaders in three regions of Africa in partnership with URI.

In Japan, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will translate an Interfaith version of a workbook used in its self-reliance program entitled, ‘Get the Job You Want’. This is a 12-lesson seminar aimed at helping the under- or unemployed prepare themselves for a successful job search by becoming their best selves through working with God, their families, and communities. Participants will learn the importance of giving back to their families and community after achieving success.

Topics covered during the two-hour, weekly course include: basics of a job search, networking, matching skills to employer needs, writing a resume, and interviewing. This interactive course is led by a facilitator who will help prepare participants for success in finding a better job. Plans are to hold workshops at multiple locations in the Tokyo area. The Church will print and provide 400 manuals for the seminars.

Darwin Halvorson, Asia North Area Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has served as a workshop facilitator many times. “One of the best results of the workshops is that most participants find jobs in less time than they would have without attending the group. At first, participants are hesitant and apprehensive. Soon, they relax, become energized and find hope. That is why they get excited. It helps them build confidence to find a job,” he added.

Dare to Overcome is a global business and peace symposium held biannually in support of the Paralympic Movement and people with disabilities. This symposium will be held at the start of the Summer 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo (Aug. 23-25). Dare to Overcome supports the mission of the Paralympic movement, in particular, to bring peace and empower those who face a variety of physical disabilities to succeed.

To get involved, email RFBF at: [email protected]


Empowerment-Plus Graduation, Manchester, UK

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) is a non-partisan, nonpolitical, registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the United States, dedicated to educating the global business community, policymakers, non-government organizations and consumers about the positive power faith — and religious freedom for all — has on business and the economy.