In Can Tho, there is a special coffee shop whose staff are people with disabilities or in difficult circumstances.
Located on a small street in An Khanh Ward (Ninh Kieu District), the San Thuong coffee shop has been operating since February 2017. The shop has 15 staff, including a chef and an accountant who are people with mobility disabilities, a security guard who is deaf, and 12 servers who are poor students from other provinces living in Can Tho to study.
Ms Bui Thi Hong Mai, the shop owner, said that when she first opened the shop, she had intended to hire non-disabled staff, but an acquaintance at the Can Tho City Association of People with Disabilities asked her to help with employment, so she decided to give opportunities to less fortunate people.
At first she was worried about whether everyone would be able to meet the requirements, but in a short time the staff adapted to the work. “It is already hard for non-disabled people to find work, and even harder, many times harder, for people with disabilities. I want to help people with the will to rise up to have a stable life and integrate well into the community”, Ms Mai shared.
Mr Nguyen Duc Hieu (29, from Tan Hiep District, Kien Giang Province), who lost a leg as a child, is the shop’s bartender and chef. After graduating from college in information technology, Hieu took an additional bartending certificate to have more job opportunities.
“The work here suits my interests as well as my health. Most importantly, the working environment at the shop is very warm, everyone supports each other and there is no discrimination”, Hieu shared. The shop’s security guard, Mr Phan Quang Loc, now over 60 and living alone, said: “Being deaf as well as old, I found it very hard to find work. Thanks to being introduced to work parking motorbikes at the shop, each month I earn enough to live on, and life is no longer as precarious as before”.
The servers are all students far from home, working part-time to earn money to cover their study costs. “Since working at the shop, Ms Mai and the others have taught me a lot. When my study timetable is very full, I am scheduled for fewer shifts, and when I am short of money for tuition, I can ask for an advance”, said Nguyen Van Thien, a fourth-year student at Can Tho University.
Bach Hop – http://thanhnien.vn