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Eden Social Welfare Foundation
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2020-06-30

Two Cafés, One Goal

The location of Talk Café and Nu Café might be thousand miles apart, but they share one common goal: to help persons with disabilities back to the society.

 

Organized by the Association for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD) in Vietnam, Talk café created a friendly working environment for persons with disabilities. It also displays art works done by artists with disabilities and invites artists to come and share their inspiration of the artworks and the techniques they used. This model helps persons with disabilities to be more financially independent and also helps the public to have more understanding about them.

 

Talk cafe in Vietnam

 

AEPD believes that once the living condition of persons with disabilities change, they are not only empowered to be independent but also empowered to contribute to the community. Talk Café is the best arena to execute their belief. In the café, persons with disabilities are hired and trained by other persons with disabilities and it would become a service hub that inspires more persons with disabilities to join.

 

Inside of the Talk Cafeoutside of the Talk Cafe

international customers at Talk Cafe

 

Thousand miles away in Taiwan, there is also another café that dedicates itself on helping persons with disabilities with skills equipment so that their living condition could be improved.

 

NU Café is a 100% charity coffee shop located in the busy Xinyi District of Taipei with neat and fashionable decoration that attracts many people to visit. For years, NU Café had been collaborating with Eden on helping persons with disabilities to learn skills that would help them in their employment. Students with disabilities from Eden not only work here but also learn various skills here so that they can work toward self- reliance.

 

Nu Cafe in Taipei

 

Kuan-Hui, dressed with the coffee shop uniform, is a big boy who was diagnosed with moderate intellectual disabilities at the age of 22. He had hard times in finding a job due to the condition of moderate intellectual disabilities.

 

Kuan-Hui is making coffee for the customers

 

When moved to a new location, NU café was in need of more manpower. Kuan-Hui seized the opportunity when the store manager inquired Eden’s En-Wan Human Resource Service of Persons with Disabilities Center for staff recommendations. Kuan-Hui  had worked in his uncle’s coffee shop for 2 years in the past, and he is highly interested in making drinks and latte art. He then successfully passed the interview and officially become a team member of Nu Café.

 

Talking about the first impression of Kuan-Hui, Nu Café’s shop manager Ms. Ru smiled and said: “When he joined us, he was very quiet and we could hardly hear him”. To help him overcome this, Ms. Ru often chats with Kuan-Hui and encouraged him to speak out his thoughts.

 

In the beginning, Kuan-Hui would only say few words like "yes" or "ok", but Kuan-Hui is now able to express his opinions with simple sentences. "He made a lot of progress, and is more confident now. I can feel it from the daily conversation and interaction with him." Ms. Ru said proudly.

 

For persons with disabilities, the most important things is to be financially independent and back to the society. The friendly workplace environment not only allows persons with disabilities like Kuan-Hui to grow and be independent, but also provides opportunities for them to contribute their talent to the community, which is a step forward to the inclusive society.