FLASH NEWS: நிலவின் தென்துருவத்தில் இறங்கிய சீன விண்கலம்; பாறை மாதிரிகளுடன் 25-ந்தேதி பூமிக்கு திரும்பும் **** சீனாவிடம் இருந்து தைவானை சுதந்திரமாக பிரிந்து செல்ல ஒருபோதும் அனுமதிக்க மாட்டோம் என சீன ராணுவம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது ***** அமெரிக்க ஆயுதங்களால் ரஷிய இலக்குகளை தாக்கலாம்.. உக்ரைனுக்கு அனுமதி அளித்த பைடன் ***** அமெரிக்காவில் நடைபெற்ற 'ஸ்பெல்லிங் பீ' போட்டியில் இந்திய வம்சாவளி மாணவர் புருகத் சோமா சாம்பியன் பட்டம் வென்று அசத்தினார் ***** கலவர வழக்குகளில் இருந்து பாகிஸ்தான் முன்னாள் பிரதமர் இம்ரான்கான் விடுதலை ***** நாட்டில் வெப்ப தாக்கத்திற்கு 56 பேர் பலி; என்.சி.டி.சி. அறிக்கை ***** அசாம் மாநிலத்தில் பெய்த கனமழையால் பிரம்மபுத்திரா நதியில் நீர்மட்டம் உயர்ந்துள்ளது ***** நாடு முழுவதும் 3-ந்தேதி முதல் சுங்கச்சாவடி கட்டணம் உயர்வு ***** இங்கிலாந்தில் இருந்து 100 டன் தங்கத்தை இந்தியாவுக்கு கொண்டு வந்த ரிசர்வ் வங்கி ***** பள்ளியிலேயே மாணவ-மாணவிகளுக்கு வங்கி கணக்கு: பள்ளி கல்வித்துறை அறிவிப்பு ***** பிரக்ஞானந்தாவின் வெற்றி வியக்க வைக்கிறது.. கவுதம் அதானி வாழ்த்து ***** திருப்பதி கோவிலில் 65 வயதுக்கு மேற்பட்ட பக்தர்கள் 30 நிமிடத்தில் தரிசனம் செய்ய வசதி ***** சிக்கிமில் மீண்டும் ஆட்சியமைக்கும் எஸ்.கே.எம்? .. அருணாச்சலப் பிரதேசத்தில் பா.ஜ.க முன்னிலை ***** டெல்லியில் தலைவிரித்தாடும் தண்ணீர் பஞ்சம் *****

Monday, February 20, 2017

Light Bulbs, Placards, Sign Language: Few Things Used in a Delhi Café Run by the Differently Abled

20.02.2017
A smiling face greets you on entering, the dishes here bear distinct codes and signs, the customers are given notepads to write their orders, there are placards for frequent requests, and each table has a light bulb, much like those in aircraft, to call out for the servers. Welcome to Echoes, a café in Delhi’s Satya Niketan area that employs people with hearing and speech impairment.

Started in December 2015, Echoes is the brainchild of a group of six friends – Sahib Sarna, Shivansh Kanwar, Gaurav Kanwar, Sahil Gulati, Prateek Babbar and Kshitij Behl, all driven by the same passion.
“We all wanted to pursue our dreams and set up something that reflected our vision. We wanted to motivate people to follow the path they choose and hence came up with Echoes. We worked on building a place with high level of interactivity, motivating interiors, scrumptious food and a social purpose,” says Sahib.

With a seating capacity of close to 40, the café currently employs six to seven differently abled persons who manage the guests by taking their orders and making them comfortable.

“We will soon be expanding and increasing the number many folds. The staff is indeed wonderful to work with. With procedures designed to suit them, they are fully capable of managing the guests on their own. We will soon be training them in other areas as well,” says Sahib.

Initially, Sarna and his friends had visited the Noida Deaf Society, a school for the hearing impaired, who helped them get the right people to recruit as their staff. “We then trained them on our procedures and now we get people through our existing staff contacts and open online sources. There are no special tie-ups with any group,” he shares.
He adds that they the staff just need to be trained in certain soft skills. “We believe that domain-specific skills can be imparted on the job. When they are hired we train them using our standard set procedures for a few days and few days of on the job training,” he says.
The café serves a mix of Continental, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and American cuisine. It’s a hit among students in the area, which has many Delhi University colleges.

“Students are the building block. We wanted to start with this market so that our message reaches the right ears. However, we don’t serve any specific community or age group. The place is open to all and we managed a place where all age groups can have a good time together. From families to corporate staff to students, you can see all enjoying at Echoes,” says Sahib.

However, every success story has its share of stumbling blocks. And Sahib agrees that they too faced challenges while setting up the place. Among the major ones, he points out, was the communication gap and designing the system that allows customers and staff to be able to interact efficiently.

But they managed to surpass it, and have received an overwhelming response over the years.

Talking about their pleasant memories, he says, “There have been many interesting experiences like customers learning sign language from our staff. It is a pleasure to see differently abled people visiting the cafe to have a good time. Daily challenges are there but we make sure we are getting permanent solutions for such challenges.”

Twenty-three-year-old Ajay, who has been working at Echoes for a year now, is more confident than he ever was. “I love to serve the guests and interact with them. And what gives me utmost happiness is when our customers try and talk to us in our language, using signs,” he says.

After making their presence felt in the capital city, Echoes is aiming to be up and running in Bengaluru’s Koramangala area in first week of March, which will have a seating capacity of 70.

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