“I still can’t believe it is true. It’s like a dream,” Tam – an old woman said, her eyes shimmering with tears while recalling the very first time her grandson, Nguyen Nhat Trung Anh came out to work as a waiter at a coffee shop.“I still can’t believe it is true. It’s like a dream,” Tam – an old woman said, her eyes shimmering with tears while recalling the very first time her grandson, Nguyen Nhat Trung Anh came out to work as a waiter at a coffee shop.
“I still can’t believe it is true. It’s
like a dream,” Tam – an old woman said, her eyes shimmering with tears
while recalling the very first time her grandson, Nguyen Nhat Trung Anh
came out to work as a waiter at a coffee shop.
Tam became speechless trying to talk about her indescribable joy the
first time she saw her grandson, suffering from Down’s syndrome, carry
a tray of drinks to a customer and not forgetting to say “please have a
drink, uncle.”
Just like other workmates who have mental disabilities such as Down’s
syndrome and autism, Trung Anh was taught to communicate and practiced
what he has learnt by paying waiter service at a coffee shop, “Humanity
Coffee”, lying on a small corner at the end of Nhan Hoa street, Thanh
Xuan district.
The coffee shop was opened in 2007 by Sao Mai - a centre for
counselling, early detection and care for mentally disabled children.
Sao Mai creates opportunities for the children to access education and
training in communication skills and to integrate into the community.
According to Do Thuy Lan, the centre’s Director, children afflicted
with mental diseases have very limited life and communications skills.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for compassion and the sharing of
responsibility among families and society so as to help these
children’s lead normal lives, she said.
Here at “Humanity Coffee”, the children do things that they could not
do without training: greeting customers, talking with them, waiting on
tables, cleaning up the shop and making simple drinks.
Customers, some living far away from the place, come to the shop to
enjoy coffee and talk with the children, which Lan said, is the best
teaching method for those with mental disabilities.
Vu Chi Thanh – an officer at the Thanh Xuan people’s committee and also
a regular visitor to the shop – said he treats the children like he
would any others, and wants to be able to do more to help them become a
meaningful part of the community.
Aside from the coffee shop, the Sao Mai centre is working on an aquatic
farming project, which will help children with mental disabilities
learn how to work with their hands and learn the value of labour./.
Source:
http://en.vietnamplus.vn/Home/Coffee-shop-becomes-home-for-mentally-disabled-children/20102/6565.vnplus
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