First cafe bakery with employees with mental disabilities opened in Kyiv
Young people with intellectual disabilities work as cooks, servers, and baristas in the cafe, UNIAN reports.
What is the problem?
Society has stereotypes about the capabilities of people with Down syndrome or other mental disorders. Employers are afraid to hire such people because they don't understand the specifics of communication and treatment and do not know how to work with them. Parents of adults with mental disorders do not have time for their work and themselves, as they are constantly forced to deal with their children's issues.
More than 400 children with Down syndrome are born in Ukraine every year. More than 17,000 adults with this syndrome live in Ukraine today. 90% are unemployed, unable to provide for themselves and their future. Against their will, they became a burden on society without possibilities of professional realization.
What is the solution?
Sunshine Café, the first social cafe-bakery in Kyiv, was opened on the territory of the METRO Pochayna shopping center, where young people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities work. The vision of the social project is that we are different, but we are equal; every person with a mental disability has the right to socialization and employment. Everyone has the right to be able to choose a profession and live a happy, fulfilling life.
How does it work?
The idea of the project belongs to Alina Zhyvaho, the founder of the Sunny People public organization.
The main activities of the cafe are pizza and bread. The concept of a pizzeria is to create pizza quickly and with high quality. Each employee is responsible for separate tasks in the preparation process. Another feature of the establishment is an open kitchen. In real-time, customers can see the entire process of cooking.
Part of the bread baked by the team is given free of charge to the poor and the Territorial Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The establishment works for cafe guests, customers, and employees of the METRO shopping center, as well as in the online delivery format.
METRO Ukraine has become a reliable partner in this socially vital project to create a world where everyone has the right to be themselves. The international trade wholesale company provides comprehensive support to the Sunshine Café team: lease of a 150-square-meter cafe space on the territory of the METRO Pochayna shopping center in Kyiv on preferential terms; professional pizza baking equipment; kitchen utensils and decor elements for cafes; ingredients for baking social bread; expert assistance in choosing the range together with METRO HoReCa managers; professional consultations and cooking workshops for employees of Sunshine Café from HoReCa clients of the network.
