Providing Job and Training Opportunities in Chennai Café

Café’s in Chennai have started implementing and providing opportunities to the survivors of domestic violence and attack. Café like Winner’s bakery have set their standards high, by providing activities, training and job opportunities to the victims. The entire community is startled by this new initiation in a good way as this helps the victims overcome their problem and live an ordinary life like others. “It is definitely a better way to make them feel loved and encourage them despite the issues they have been facing as they are also humans and they deserve an opportunity to grow and reach bigger heights”, states Vijaya Gopalan, a regular customer to winner’s bakery. “The skills of people are tremendous, so why not accept them when we know their potential and stability in performing a task be it baking or fast learning”, says the owner of Winner’s bakery.

The bakery too is on an undertaking to strengthen its offerings. It has appointed three different women referred by way of PCVC to the bakery, which become started in 2005 together with the aid of the Chennai culinary institute (run through hot breads) and the rotary club of madras east in association with the greater Chennai business enterprise to assist the underprivileged, particularly college dropouts, between the ages of 16 and 25 years. The contemporary batch has 12 trainees. The institute takes care of their meals and transportation expenses. In an afternoon, the crew makes around 60 kg of desserts, forty three different bakery gadgets and 55 confectionary products.“In the last five years, 92 students had been appointed; of which handiest 39 were able to effectively whole the schooling. Possibilities abound in this sector, but the commitment to analyze is crucial.

Quite a few physical paintings are worried in baking and inventive abilities are required for confectionary making. Even though the customer base is developing, the body of workers strength has not grown correspondingly. So, we have commenced accepting references from different NGOs,” says Balu, manager. Next month, a new set of trainees will be a part of the bakery. “Ten college students from the CSI School for the deaf, faculty can become a member of this, in June. An everyday consumer made this viable,” he provides. As the students will require more support, teachers from the college may be present to assist them. The bakery has a unit in Santhome too.There are few other café like the writer’s café that aims to make survivors domestic abuse, acid attacks and fire accidents independent. Earlier there was a 19yr old, Priyadarshini who found it challenging to find a job as she was rejected outright or treated with sympathy by the prospective employers as she had visible burnt marks on her neck even tried to immolate herself two years ago following a fight with her mother. This brave girl later ended up at writer’s café where they acknowledged her for her skills and talent and not of her physical appearance. She began working there from August.

The café is owned by M Mahadevan who visited a burn ward through non-profit organization, Prevention International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC), few months prior. That’s when he developed an idea to start a cafe to help rehabilitate survivors of domestic abuse, acid attacks and fire accidents. In the middle of December, Writer’s Cafe unlocked its door to patrons in Chennai. At the moment six lady survivors are functioning in three subdivisions- hot kitchen, confectionery and bakery. All the survivors have to go through training at Winner’s Bakery, after training, they start working and are provided with a monthly income.